Little You

PreS—This tender celebration of babies features gentle rhymes and warm, understated illustrations. The six couplets combine direct language: "Let's all dance/let's all sing" with more poetic imagery: "Little wish/Gentle thunder." The art has the look of cut paper, with distinct lines and pleasingly curved shapes. It depicts the same child, at home and out in nature. Some scenes show the youngster alone, others with one or both parents. Eschewing the overt cuteness often seen in board books, the artist captures the toddler's joy in subtle, but tangible images, from a smiling face looking up at butterflies to the wisp of hair that blows just like the father's as the two watch fish from a canoe. The family feels real and specific, and the message ("You are the birth of everything true") will resonate with all readers.—Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR