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Reviews and Honours
What they are saying about Baby Animals Trying
The joy of new life and precious firsts shared throughout the animal kingdom.
In simple, rhyming text, the story of the early days of babies’ lives plays out along with gentle illustrations. Wolf pups howl with their pack, while a giraffe calf takes its first awkward steps. Readers will find familiar animals such as rabbits and horses alongside those that might be lesser known, including the loon. The book ends with images of human children taking part in accomplishments such as first steps; a narrator promises to “be beside you wherever you go. // Cheering with wonder and joy… / as you grow.” On each spread, readers will find a brief fact; for instance, baby rabbits don’t open their eyes until 10 days after they’re born. The balance between the flow of the concise, rhyming text and the factual information makes for a book that children will continue to appreciate as they grow. Little ones and their caregivers can read it straight through or linger and learn a bit more while also scoping out the appended “Animal Milestones” section for further information. The animals look like snuggly stuffed toys come to life rather than realistic wild creatures, but that only adds to the appeal. The few people depicted at the end have varied skin tones and hair colors.
A sweet read that will grow with readers while tugging on their heartstrings.
What they are saying about A World of Love
In an ode to the universal love of parent and child, this book invites readers to explore how members of the animal realm show their love to their young. Richly colored cut-paper collages adorn spreads of various animals in their habitats, e.g., a dolphin and calf surof grass. Each pair is accompanied by two stanzas beginning with the same phrase, “if all the earth,” followed by the habitat and a hypothetical situation of how a the parent would care for and love the child: “If all the earth/ were oceans deep—/ great seas that you explore—/ I’d call to you,/ my calf, my calf,/ the one that I adore.” The book concludes with a light-skinned parent and child at a beach at sunset with four stanzas describing their love for the child. Back matter includes more information about how animals care for their young, with two of the eight shown—a silverback gorilla and emperor penguin—being male. Detailed illustrations along with the beautiful descriptors make this book a great option to read one-on-one with a child tucked in close.
VERDICT With its rhythmic lines and colorful illustrations, A World of Love is sure to be a bedtime favorite.
Reid and Lyles create a colorful world of parent-child love.
Each page turn reveals a different animal and environment, each done in a striking palette, including spring green, ocean blue, and desert brown. Stunning collages made with hand-painted paper, pencil, and crayon range from simpler cutouts of sheep grazing on a hilly pasture and a light-skinned human parent at the beach as the sun sets to a mourning dove and her baby in an intricately constructed nest. Two stanzas of easy-to-read thyming verse accompany each family scene. Each spread starts with the refrain “if all the earth.” Reid then mentions a hypothetical situation and concludes with a specific way the parent would care for and protect the child (“if all the earth / were ice and snow / and you were small and new, / I’d shelter you, my chick, my chick— / secure until you grew”). Many verses also include the specific term for the baby animal, such as a sheep’s lamb, a dolphin’s calf, a goat’s kid, and a penguin’s chick. Though Reid includes two stanzas of verse for each animal, at the end, she uses four stanzas for the human parent and child. Richly colored, detailed illustrations and short verses brimming with love make the book a good candidate for one-on-one reading (and snuggling). Backmatter offers additional information about each animal’s devoted parenting behavior and in two cases (emperor penguins and gorillas) describes the role of fathers.
Tailor-made for a nap-time cuddle.
What they are saying about Animal Snuggles
An introduction for young children to the world of animal affection. A spare, rhyming text showcases 13 animals and the various ways that they bond through touch. A mother otter and her pup snuggle “belly to belly,” while a young colt nestles a mare “cheek to cheek.” Kangaroos hug “elbow to elbow,” while swans touch “beak to beak.” Each pairing radiates love and comfort between adult and youngster. To widen the audience, the main text appears in large, bold lettering, while a smaller typeface adds supplementary information. For instance, “On a cold snow drift, / toes to toes” sits alongside “Emperor penguin fathers hold their / newborn chicks in a special pouch by their feet.” One could simply read the larger text as a lullaby to the youngest listeners, or expound further for older, curious minds. Appended facts at the end provide additional context on each animal. Braun’s golden highlights shine on sands, forests, ponds, and grasslands. Even the underwater and icy tundra landscapes exude warmth from the cuddles. The final pairing shows humans with a variety of skin tones giving snuggles: “Nothing is sweeter, / Nothing more true. / Heartbeat to / heartbeat. / Me with you.” Readers will no doubt want to practice the adorable nuzzling actions of the animals as well. Love in its most natural state.
This is a great look at the cute and cuddly side of animals in nature. It shows how different animal parents care for their young from otters carrying babies on their bellies, rabbits touching noses to bond, bears staying close for warmth and to feed little ones, and so many more. Short simple sentences keep it easy for little ones to follow and the illustrations are irresistibly cute! There are extra pages of information about the animals in more detail in the back of the book.
This heartwarming, lullaby-like nonfiction picture book combines facts with a comforting message of love and belonging. Back matter about ways specific animals show love is included. Perfect for homes, schools, and libraries!
What they are saying about First Morning Sun
Via concise rhymes, Reid narrates a series of childhood firsts, beginning with a newborn’s “First morning sun./ First day begun,” in this joyful ode to milestones both mundane and major. Moving chronologically through traditional year-one signposts such as speech, steps, and a birthday, the book quickly ventures into toddler territory and beyond, celebrating events including “First feeling brave” during a seaside dip and “First scraped-up knee” thanks to a scooter tumble, up until the arrival of “First sibling new/ More firsts for two.” In jubilant scenes, Tsong’s digital illustrations layer thickly outlined, rough-hewn figures with largely fanciful skin tones atop vibrant batik-like patterns. When three kids swing gaily on a tire swing (“First taking flight”), they practically fly off the page. Similarly unadorned and emphatic, text and prose aptly focus attention on many affecting moments of early childhood.
What they are saying about Welcome Home
Relatives welcome their newest family member in this moving picture book in rhyme. From mother and father to siblings, grandparents, extended family, and neighbors, a jolly crew of friendly faces sociably greet a tan-skinned, rosy-cheeked infant with reiterative phrasing: “ ‘Welcome home,’ say the sisters,/ excited to see/ the adorable baby/ atop Mama’s knee.” Oceanic blues, peachy pinks, and sunny yellows infuse Kheiriyeh’s whimsical multimedia paintings, which depict relations of varied skin tones (including the baby’s Black and white siblings) and exaggerated body proportions lavishing attention on the eager, active newborn. As the busy domestic meet-and-greets build, segueing into a cheerful walk in the park, an idealized and irresistible picture of community is formed, amplifying the book’s message of earnest affection and welcome.
What they are saying about You Are My Friend
**STARRED REVIEW**
Writing with simplicity, emotional clarity, and a sense of purpose, Reid tells Fred Rogers’ story in a meaningful, sometimes moving way. Phelan’s fluid pencil-and-watercolor artwork brings that story to life on the page... A beautifully crafted, heartfelt picture-book biography.
Using straightforward words and a deliberate pace that emulate the tone of Fred Rogers himself, Reid chronicles the story of this extraordinary childhood icon.
“You are important. You are valuable. You are enough—just as you are.” Freddie, as he was known as a child, spent quite a bit of time inside due to illness. Lonely, he turned to his puppets for comfort and entertainment, foreshadowing Daniel Tiger, Henrietta Pussycat, and other well-known characters who would later appear in Make-Believe. Fred’s grandfather McFeely taught him to believe in himself, to trust that he was special. Fred learned how to handle difficult emotions by playing piano music that evoked how he felt in the moment. His mother played an important part, too, encouraging him to look for helpers around him. So many of these early strategies and philosophies would later form the ethos of the Emmy Award–winningMister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 895 episodes on PBS. Phelan’s watercolor illustrations perfectly capture, through vivid colors, the rainbow of emotions that Freddie experienced. Phelan also employs both classic vignettes and graphic-novel elements, offering a unique portrayal of this remarkable individual . . . .
A simply written, thoughtful tribute worthy of the incomparable Mister Rogers. (Picture book/biography. 5-8)
A graceful, quietly moving biography.
The book has a gentle cadence that it’s easy to imagine Fred Rogers’ famous voice into... Phelan’s pencil and watercolor art, casually impressionistic in its details, beams with soft warmth.
What they are saying about Mama's Day With Little Gray
In Reid’s debut children’s book, as a mother elephant and her calf stroll through the grasslands, Little Gray imagines the two of them switching places. “‘If I grew up and you were my calf…. I’d spend every day with you,” he says. “I would be your calf and stay right by your side,” his mother responds. Bryant’s dewy, pastel palette fills the landscape as the elephants saunter along, acting out each of the scenarios that the calf entertains. “‘I could show you how to make mud,’ said Little Gray. ‘I know you’d be a good teacher,’ Mama said.” An abundantly sweet depiction of a child’s gentle nudging for assurance.
A cozy tale about a young elephant imagining what things would be like if he were grown. An elephant mother spends the day with her Little Gray. His desire to grow up and his conflicting desire that his mother always be there to offer advice and support are at the root of his many questions. “Mama, when I grow up, will you grow down?” Mama elephant is portrayed as the ideal mother. Her gentle words put her young one at ease and bolster his growing confidence. When Little Gray states he will share leaves from a tall tree when he is bigger, Mama exclaims, “You would be big! And very kind.” Pastel-hued spreads are dominated by pale yellows, warm greens and watery blues. The elephants’ expressive eyes convey admiration and love, while the nimble movements of the younger pachyderm contrast with the steady, darker-hued mother, whose bigger shape often frames her child.
PreS-K—As a baby elephant spends a day with her mother, she considers “what if” she were big and her mother were small. Little Gray determines that she would do everything that her mother is doing with her, like strolling through fields of grass, eating sweet leaves off of a high tree, swimming, and sleeping cuddled up together. Most of all, Little Gray promises that she would keep her mother safe, just as she feels on this perfect day. The story reads like a combination of Robert Munsch’s Love You Forever (Firefly, 1995) and Barbara M. Joosse’s Mama, Do You Love Me? (Chronicle, 1998), in which the child pretends and the parent patiently plays along. Soft, watercolor illustrations highlight the expressive faces of the two animals and enhance the theme of unconditional love between parent and child.
Mama’s Day with Little Gray was named to the Toronto Public Library’s First and Best list for 2014. This list celebrates the “top ten picks for kids under five” to help them prepare for reading.
