WELCOME, PRECIOUS

Every child should be so blessed as to be welcomed to the world and into the loving embrace of an adoring family, as is the African-American newborn in this warm poetic picture book.

The engaging text is filled with whispering sibilants, as in, “Welcome to robin song / and the swish of leaves in the breeze.” Overall, Collier’s signature eye-catching watercolor-and-collage illustrations are deeply appealing, particularly in the scenes featuring the infant’s captivating open-mouthed, toothless smiles. Page-and-a-half spreads of deep color illustrate Grimes’s joyful inventory of delights. However, the baby’s face isn’t always rendered consistently; one illustration shows it with an odd-shaped head, and in some drawings, balloon collages are distracting.

Still, this is a reassuring charmer and a sure-to-be-welcomed paean to doting parents and their cherished newborns.