A Story That Grows

PreS-K–This whimsical story features a variety of parents, including a snail, a dragon, an alien, an ostrich, and even a backhoe. The left side of each spread includes a three-line description and depicts a parent reading to their offspring. The little one holds a comfort toy, which foreshadows the subject of the subsequent spread. The facing page features a related book. For example, on one page, an ostrich mom reads to her child. The text reads, “A mom who hides her head, a child tucked under the covers,/a cuddly friend with a spiral shell.” The facing page contains an image of a book hatched from a shell and the words “a story that hatches.” Next is a snail dad who reads to a child clutching a toy bat. Of course, a bat is the next reader. The pattern continues until, finally, a human dad reads to a child holding a stuffed butterfly, which brings readers back to the cover image of a butterfly parent. Each bedroom scene in Bachelet’s humorous watercolor illustrations cleverly fits its inhabitants. A fish dad sits on a chair made of coral. His child is in a fish bowl–shaped bed atop a rug depicting sea creatures. A starfish mobile hangs overhead, and an octopus pull toy is nearby. The book on the opposite page has scales and fins. Endpapers contain labeled pictures of all the creatures within.