Both tenderly human and macrocosmic.
Inspired by Debra Frasier’s On the Day You Were Born (1991), a tale that intertwines facts about Earth’s origins with the trajectory of childhood development.
As a Brown caregiver hikes and camps with a child sporting toy wings (whose white hair and pale skin suggest albinism), Newhouse’s text relies on a “before you were born” trope, previously popularized by Frasier, to gallop through billions of years of earth science. “Long before you grew cell by cell… / continents formed, / sulfur steamed, / bacteria multiplied, / life evolved on Earth.” The narrative aligns the child’s developmental markers with our planet’s evolutionary patterns. “Long before you took your first steps… / amphibians crawled and hopped to land.” After establishing the existence of bees, mammals, and dinosaurs, Newhouse introduces the giant asteroid whose impact (“BOOM!”) renders the dinosaurs extinct. Life renews, primates clamber in trees, and brown-skinned early humans start to “build, create, and play.” Cosgrove’s digital illustrations effectively use scraggly crayon textures against backdrops of deep-space black and the blue and mauve of earthly skies. Keyed to the child’s hair, chalk-white drawings depict evolving animal species and human achievements like ships and cities. The evolutionary narrative underpins a loving contemporary family; in one spread, a blissful pregnant couple awaits the birth of the youngster at the story’s center. Below a night sky whose starry constellation resembles the child’s face, the caregiver tucks the little one in. Little readers will come away assured of their place in the world.
Both tenderly human and macrocosmic. (author’s note, timeline, bibliography) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780823458462
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project.
The Celebrate the World series spotlights Lunar New Year.
This board book blends expository text and first-person-plural narrative, introducing readers to the holiday. Chau’s distinctive, finely textured watercolor paintings add depth, transitioning smoothly from a grand cityscape to the dining room table, from fantasies of the past to dumplings of the present. The text attempts to provide a broad look at the subject, including other names for the celebration, related cosmology, and historical background, as well as a more-personal discussion of traditions and practices. Yet it’s never clear who the narrator is—while the narrative indicates the existence of some consistent, monolithic group who participates in specific rituals of celebration (“Before the new year celebrations begin, we clean our homes—and ourselves!”), the illustrations depict different people in every image. Indeed, observances of Lunar New Year are as diverse as the people who celebrate it, which neither the text nor the images—all of the people appear to be Asian—fully acknowledges. Also unclear is the book’s intended audience. With large blocks of explication on every spread, it is entirely unappealing for the board-book set, and the format may make it equally unattractive to an older, more appropriate audience. Still, readers may appreciate seeing an important celebration warmly and vibrantly portrayed.
Lovely illustrations wasted on this misguided project. (Board book. 4-8)Pub Date: Dec. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3303-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
A delightful story of love and hope.
Families are formed everywhere—including large metropolitan mass-transit systems!
Baby Kevin, initially known as “Danny ACE Doe,” was found in the New York City’s 14th Street subway station, which serves the A-C-E lines, by one of his future fathers, Danny. Kevin’s other father, Pete (author Mercurio), serves as the narrator, explaining how the two men came to add the newborn to their family. Readers are given an abridged version of the story from Danny and Pete’s point of view as they work to formally adopt Kevin and bring him home in time for Christmas. The story excels at highlighting the determination of loving fathers while still including realistic moments of hesitation, doubt, and fear that occur for new and soon-to-be parents. The language is mindful of its audience (for example using “piggy banks” instead of “bank accounts” to discuss finances) while never patronizing young readers. Espinosa’s posterlike artwork—which presents the cleanest New York readers are ever likely to see—extends the text and makes use of unexpected angles to heighten emotional scenes and moments of urgency. The diversity of skin tones, ages, and faces (Danny and Pete both present white, and Kevin has light brown skin) befits the Big Apple. Family snapshots and a closing author’s note emphasize that the most important thing in any family is love. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11.3-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 43% of actual size.)
A delightful story of love and hope. (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-42754-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
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