The story is hasty, but its sentiments are sweet.
Can Little Dragon get used to the idea of becoming a big brother?
Little Dragon is ambivalent at best when his parents show him their egg and announce that there’s a new baby on the way. “He was definitely not in the mood for company right now,” reads the text on a page that includes artistic Little Dragon’s drawings of his family, which hang on the wall beside a sign with the words “My Room.” His solution is first to cover the egg, which is as big as he is, with blankets. Unsatisfied, he then paints a face on the egg, though it’s unclear why he has this impulse since the picture makes the egg more conspicuous. The drawing also displeases his mother, who brings him a bucket of soapy water and a washcloth. Contrite, Little Dragon scrubs the egg until he hears a loud “CRAAACK.” Lo and behold, not one but two baby dragons emerge from the egg. On seeing how cute they are, Little Dragon has an immediate change of heart and embraces his new siblings. On the final page one baby displays some of its big brother’s artistic sensibility in a humorous twist, and Little Dragon crosses out the word “My” on the sign in his room and replaces it with “OUR.” All the dragons have the same green-and-white coloration and spike patterns, indicating a homogeneous family. As an aspirational title for expectant big siblings, this tale is adequate, but its underdeveloped emotional arc begs unfavorable comparison to such subgenre classics as Julius, the Baby of the World.
The story is hasty, but its sentiments are sweet. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: March 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5107-1268-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an...
A little boy exults in his new role as big brother.
Rhyming text describes the arrival of a new baby and all of the big brother’s rewarding new duties. He gets to help with feedings, diaper changes, playtime, bathtime, and naptime. Though the rhyming couplets can sometimes feel a bit forced and awkward, the sentiment is sweet, as the focus here never veers from the excitement and love a little boy feels for his tiny new sibling. The charming, uncluttered illustrations convincingly depict the growing bond between this fair-skinned, rosy-cheeked, smiling pair of boys. In the final pages, the parents, heretofore kept mostly out of view, are pictured holding the children. The accompanying text reads: “Mommy, Daddy, baby, me. / We love each other—a family!” In companion volume I Am a Big Sister, the little boy is replaced with a little girl with bows in her hair. Some of the colors and patterns in the illustrations are slightly altered, but it is essentially the same title.
A good choice for caregivers looking for a positive, uncomplicated introduction to a new baby that focuses on everything an older sibling can do to help. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-68886-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt.
A love song from parents to their child.
This title will seem quite similar to the many others about parents’ deep love for their children. The text is wholly composed of first-person declarations of parental love, and it’s juxtaposed with illustrations of the child with one or both parents. It’s not always clear who the “I” speaking is, and there are a few pages that instead use “we.” Most sentences begin with “I love you more” phrasing to communicate that nothing could undermine parental love: “I love you more than all the sleepless nights…and all the early, tired mornings.” The accompanying pictures depict the child as a baby with weary parents. Later spreads show the child growing up, and the phrasing shifts away from the challenges of parenting to its joys and to attempts to quantify love: “I love you more than all the blades of grass at the park…and all the soccer that we played.” Throughout, Bell’s illustrations use pastel tones and soft visual texture to depict cozy, wholesome scenes that are largely redundant of the straightforward, warm text. They feature a brown-haired family with a mother, father, and child, who all appear to be white (though the father has skin that’s a shade darker than the others’).
It’s nothing new, but it’s also clearly heartfelt. (Picture book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4998-0652-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
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