by Marilyn Singer & illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2001
A preschooler drags her father from his comfy bed for adventures on the landmark Brooklyn Promenade. Well-known as a tourist magnet for its striking views of Manhattan from across New York City's East River, the Promenade is also a haven for the urban residents. Singer's (The Circus Lunicus, 2000, etc.) well-chosen spare sentences describe the simple joys of early childhood, "What will she see today? / A blue car? / A yellow car? / A ship with a flag?" Delightful interactions of father and daughter, " 'Vroom! Zoom!' roars Didi. / 'Wide glide' says Daddy. / Side by side they pretend to ride." Singer masterfully captures the young girl's short attention span from page to page: vehicle spotting, petting puppies, listening to birds, cars, and music, dancing, meeting friends, sliding, playing in the sandbox—all of this on a ribbon of pavement built above the Brooklyn/Queens expressway. Parents will recognize the knowing refrain " 'Didi, go slow!' / But Didi says, " 'No!' ” The watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations capture the distinctive qualities of each inhabitant enjoying the day, from the movement of the street musicians to the multitude of dogs, in addition to portraying the uniqueness of place—the wind blowing inland, the light on the river. Small details reflect a knowing eye while giving readers lots to examine. The sweeping panoramic views are strikingly reproduced on double-paged spreads and those who know the area can spot familiar sites from the Statue of Liberty to the twin towers on down to the Brooklyn Bridge. (author's note) (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: March 19, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-04640-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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by Emilia Bechrakis Serhant ; illustrated by E.G. Keller ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2020
A poetic ode to women who became mothers despite the challenges they faced.
Whether navigating the roughest seas, crossing the hottest deserts, or pushing through painful brambles, the mothers in this book know their long, hard journeys were worth the effort. There might have been failure and doubt, but now that it’s all over, they know they’d “do it all over again. For you.” First-person narration expresses in metaphor the extraordinary lengths some mothers will go to achieve their dream of holding a child in their arms. Sentimental and flowery, the text is broad enough to apply to the journeys of many mothers—even though the text is gender neutral, the illustrations clearly center the mother’s experience. At times another figure, often male-presenting, is shown alongside a mother. Soft, jewel-toned illustrations peppered with textures depict families with a variety of skin tones and hair colors/textures. The assortment of mothers shown demonstrates the universality of the message, but it also contributes to the absence of a strong visual throughline. In the concluding author’s note, Serhant shares her personal struggle to conceive her child, which included fertility treatments and IVF. Ultimately, although the sentiment is lovely, the message is too abstract to be understood by children and will be better received and appreciated by parents.
Though it looks like a book for longed-for children, it’s really for their parents. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-17388-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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by Nicky Benson ; illustrated by Jonny Lambert ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
A bear cub gets a load of lyrical loving from a lumbering parent in this nature walk.
Expressed in stumbling rhyme—“I love you more than trees / love to change with every season. / I love you more than anything. / I cannot name just one reason”—Benson’s perfervid sentiments accompany scenes of bear and cub strolling through stands of birch, splashing into a river to watch (just watch) fish, and, in a final moonlit scene, cuddling beneath starry skies. Foxes, otters, and other animal parents and offspring, likewise adoring, make foreground cameos along the way in Lambert’s neatly composed paper-collage–style illustrations. Since the bears are obvious stand-ins for humans (the cub even points at things and in most views is posed on two legs), the gender ambiguity in both writing and art allow human readers some latitude in drawing personal connections, but that’s not enough to distinguish this uninspired effort among the teeming swarm of “I Love You This Much!” titles.
A particularly soppy, sloppy addition to an already-overstuffed genre. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68010-022-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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