| THAT SPECIAL LITTLE BABY Reviews! |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| [Artwork by Meilo So from That Special Little Baby] |
Publishers Weekly, 9/3/2007 Human babies have been growing up for thousands of years now, but it's still an amazing phenomenon—at least to the babies and their parents. Peddicord (Night Wonders) marvels walk or even count to two.” Buoyant rhymes describe her impressive feats— she “bobbled in the bubble bath beneath a sudsy do./ That baby splashed and sprayed and played/ and made a floating boat parade”—in between choruses explaining how the baby “grew and grew and GREW!” So (Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats) proves an ideal partner for Peddicord's jubilant voice. Her infant heroine is as wide-eyed as they come, and kids will find her scenes of pint-size bliss familiar. The illustrator's colors have a gorgeous clarity and vibrancy—the oranges and yellows glow, the reds burst off the page. But even more important, this special little baby looks wonderfully ordinary: a bit lumpy in infancy (in one spread, her diaper is hilariously exaggerated), she becomes full of beans in toddlerhood. Attentive readers will have fun spotting parallels: a spread in which the baby gazes at a kitten precedes a picture in which the now older girl and her father sport painted-on cat faces. Preschoolers will adore seeing themselves become so mature—and so will their parents. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2007 Peddicord creates a heartfelt story commemorating the wonderful development that occurs between infancy and early childhood. She portrays the various stages of achievements and milestones most infants go through. The repetition of the first and last verses in each section creates a gentle rhythm in the tale and expands upon the theme of continuity through change. But it's the compelling juxtaposition of Peddicord's text with So's ethereal artwork that conveys the essential meaning. Each section detailing the accomplishments of the baby concludes with the phrase, "and grew and grew . . . and grew!" with the accompanying watercolor illustrations depicting the baby as a preschooler engaged in a similar but more advanced extension of the infant's activity. For example, depictions of a crawling baby tugging on mother's skirt segue into an exuberant tot running across a field of flowers. This joyful testimony to a child's progression is bound to appeal to a preschooler's sense of pride in their recent gains. (Picture book. 3-6) School Library Journal, September 2007 PreS-Gr 2-Cooing, crawling, and grabbing her toes, a "very special baby" cries, sighs, and snuggles all day long. She cannot walk or talk, but she discovers the many things she can do as she grows. This is a perfect celebration covering all of the steps that a newborn makes en route to becoming a toddler. The lush, enormously appealing illustrations perfectly mesh with the bouncy rhyme that takes readers through all the triumphs that little ones experience. Step by step, the excitement builds as the little girl reaches, climbs, swings, and slides. Sure to be a much-demanded, "Read-it-again" picture book, this positive can-do look at babyhood can be matched with Michael Lawrence's Baby Loves (DK, 1999), Penny Gentieu's Grow! Babies! (Crown, 2000), Amy Hest's The Babies Are Coming (Crown, 1997), and Susan Meyers's Everywhere Babies (Harcourt, 2001).-Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA |