Review by New York Times Review
A crew of cherubic, messy-haired toddlers in fantastically stylish outfits bounces through this simple rhyming celebration of love in its many forms. On each page, the word "love" is paired with just one other ("me," "you," "smile," "hug") as we see Massini's characters at the beach and at the playground, with a dog and a cat, and reading, painting and playing instruments. A teddy's lost, then found, adding a dose of drama to a gorgeous and altogether satisfying little world. DID YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU? Written and illustrated by Christa Pierce. 28 pp. Harper/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6) As mismatched pairs go, the digitally drawn blue-gray bird and rusty brown fox in this tribute to unconditional love are a winning one. At first, the tiny bird's declaration of ardor catches the fox unaware, but surprise gives way to the dreamy smiles of someone who knows he's adored but likes to hear it anyway. By the end, the bird's extravagant words morph into that eternal parental promise of devotion, "however big you get to be." The fox gets the crucial last words: "I love you, too." I LOVE MOM By Joanna Walsh. Illustrated by Judi Abbot. 32 pp. Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 6) These brother and sister tigers just know they have the best mother in the entire world, and they may well be right. Not only can she "make a paper plate into a plane," she helps them tidy up, bakes cakes and pushes the swing way high. Quite simply, "No other mother looks so fine." After carrying them home from the playground, one in each arm, she makes dinner, then laughs as they splash and spit water at her from their bath. What a woman! (Her rough black stripes are super-cute, too.) THERE'S THIS THING Written and illustrated by Connah Brecon. 27 pp. Philomel. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 8) Not everyone is comfortable in the realm of emotion. Take the adorably diffident girl with shaggy red hair who says, in a heart-shaped word bubble: "There's this thing I really like. I would like to like it even more." She can't utter that loaded word, and she looks for it in all the wrong places. Only when she gives up does a boy with a heart-shaped balloon arrive. It's a refreshing reminder that it can be hard to ask for what we want, and that even introverts need love above all. IN MY HEART A Book of Feelings By Jo Witek. Illustrated by Christine Roussey. 32 pp. Abrams Appleseed. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 8) "My heart is like a house, with all these feelings living inside," announces a sprightly little girl, rendered in skillful, nuanced line drawings. A giant heart-shaped cutout gets smaller on each page of this ingenious, attractive book, so that its multicolored layers appear to peel off, onionlike. The little girl explores a range of emotions - brave, mad, calm, hopeful, shy, sad - and invites a child to name her own feelings. What could have been heavy-handed is instead buoyant and delightful. ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [February 1, 2015]
Review by Booklist Review
A pair of tiger cubs extol the virtues of their mum as we follow a day in their life. After getting up in the morning, they play, bake together, take a trip to the park, and then it's teatime, a bath, and, finally, bedtime for everyone. Throughout, both the breezy verse and the whimsical illustrations show these situations from the child's perspective, as they take every opportunity to talk about their mom's special abilities. Nobody does it as well as Mom is the take-home message that will resonate with every young child, and though this tribute begs to be shared one-on-one, because of its larger format, it could be part of a small-group story time. Pair this with My Mom (2005), by Anthony Browne, and Mama and Me (2011), by Arthur Dorros.--Edmundson, Martha Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Walsh and Abbot's third collaboration about concrete and intangible expressions of love, following The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug, tiger siblings sing the praises of their active, resourceful-and attractive-mother: "When we go out/ she slips her hand in mine./ No other mother looks so fine./ No one strolling up the street/ so neat, so pretty./ And at the park nobody/ swings my swing so high./ No one brings the sky/ closer to the seesaw." Abbot paints her toylike tigers in vibrant orange, shaped and shaded with soft pencil lines. The world the characters inhabit is one of easy solutions ("But who'd have guessed/ a mess could be/ so quick to pick up"), even tempers, and one-note rah-rah praise, but the overall mood of soothing security and familial bliss makes this a fine pick for gift-giving on Mother's Day, as much as on Valentine's Day. Ages 4-8. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Two tiger cubs offer a glowing and loving tribute to Mom, highlighting her considerable talent at playing, baking, bathing, and tucking into bed. The uneven rhymed text flavored with cuddly, snuggly imagery and Abbot's warm and sunny color illustrations offers an idealized picture of motherhood that may resonate, especially come Mother's Day. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A mother tiger and her two cubs show their love for each other in this slim tale. This slightly oversized title features an adorable feline trio cuddling under pink foil hearts on the cover. Within, one of the cubs sings a paean to Mom. She plays the best games, bakes the best goodieseven evidently does the best laundry ("No jammies are so warm or so snuggly"). How right it is to appreciate imaginative craft ideas, baking skill and expert mediation between tussling siblings, but this mother is omnipresent. The bright illustrations exude child appeal, but they fail to make up for the often oddly worded text: "Some games are fun games but not like Mom's games," or "No one brings the sky closer to the seesaw." Another misstep is in the depiction throughout of two little tigers but the dominant use of a singular pronoun; the first textual reference to a sibling is an abrupt transition to Mom-as-peacemaker: "But if we fight." The intention of the whole is clearly to celebrate the mother-child bond, but it's too bad it is not greater than its parts. Walsh and Abbot have collaborated beforewith The Biggest Kiss and The Perfect Hug (2011, 2012)with more impressive results. Books about moms and their appreciative children abound. Pass on this lackluster offering. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
