A panoramic handbook for mothers.
Ingram characterizes her nonfiction debut as “a baby book for moms,” a multivoice, multistage journal designed to chart the mother’s journey as separate from the baby’s. Ingram designs the book for maximum reader involvement; each chapter contains many themed prompts like “Looking back at the birth I think it went…” or “My baby is the most like me when....” Each chapter deals with different months and weeks of a baby’s infancy, and each section is filled with tips, funny quotes, interviews with a broad range of mothers, checklists, and a wealth of fascinating facts peppered throughout the text. “Baby gas is often caused by an immature digestive system and your baby’s inability to process milk or food items properly, or by ingesting too much air,” readers are told at one point, and “Grown-ups have exactly 206 bones, but experts disagree about exactly how many bones babies have—most say somewhere between 270 and the low 300s.” (Also, fascinatingly, research shows that the age of menopause is matrilineally determined.) All the trials and odd details of motherhood are touched upon, from mood swings to losing hair to returning to full-time work to, of course, chronic sleep deprivation, and Ingram maintains throughout a tone of upbeat humor and gentle understanding that new mothers especially will doubtless find very encouraging. The quotes from mothers in all walks and stages of life likewise reinforce a feeling of camaraderie and solidarity, and Ingram’s inclusion of inspirational and humorous quotes supplements this, constantly reminding mothers to pay attention to the positive sides of their experiences. Ingram’s prose is bright and accessible, and the book’s many moving parts are perfectly designed to keep readers entertained and involved.
A warm, involving, and ultimately uplifting journal for mothers caught in the distracting whirlwind of caring for a new baby.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73239-400-1
Page Count: 283
Publisher: Little Cow Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
Categories: GENERAL NONFICTION
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