I'll meet you in your dreams

In fanciful verse by Young, a parent promises to be present for every moment of a child's life. López shifts back and forth between two brown-skinned parent-child pairs. "You'll be an eagle and I'll be a hawk," begins a vertical spread depicting a striped-shirt-wearing brunette child and their red-dress-wearing guardian, both now sprouting wings. "We'll be two stars twinkling bright," starts another, showing a child with textured hair floating alongside their hat-wearing adult. As each child matures, cozy images give way to adventure; befitting the world of dreams, the humans shrink, expand, and fly, their ascents given space by vertical spreads. Fresh, bright spreads by López incorporate folk elements such as stylized leaves and flowers. As the children strike out on their own, the text nods to differing life paths, portraying one new adult pursuing their passion in music and one starting a family of their own, in a bedtime fantasy of love, possibility, and acceptance. Ages 4--8. (Mar.)

In lyrical rhyme, a parent promises to love their child across the years of their special bond. An adult with warm brown skin and long brown hair and a red dress floats above a sleeping town, cradling a baby. Meanwhile, an adult with a somewhat deeper-brown complexion and straw fedora shelters a different child from a downpour. A unified narration offers a series of tender, metaphor-driven vignettes spanning the little ones' lifetimes. The scenes follow a gentle formula, depicting a stage in the kids' lives and the support the adults vow to provide ("you'll be a knight and I'll be a horse. / We'll race along a rainbow's course / to castles in the sky") then seamlessly shifting into a new iteration of their connection ("until it's time to fly. / Then…"). As the story progresses, each child's autonomy grows; in turn, each adult lovingly acknowledges the change their relationships will take. Combining lyrical words with vibrant paintings and occasionally rotating spreads, Young and López weave a rich tapestry that honors the process of children's self-determination over time. Most notable about this warmhearted tale is how it can be applied to any special adult in a child's life, including caregivers, extended family, and chosen family. Because each parent-child duo is illustrated as a distinct unit, this book is also a beautiful representation of single parents. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 16% of actual size.) A tender ode to a family's ever changing (and never-ending) love. (Picture book. 4-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.