How Do You Say I Love You?

How Do You Say I Love You? by Hannah Eliot
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love the idea of this book, with its message that children and parents all over the world love each other, just in different languages. I love that each “I love you” is written out in the original language itself, in the transliteration into English, and phonetically/with a pronunciation guide. It’s very sweet, with its depiction of regular children doing regular things.

What I don’t love is that it skews toward European countries, and that the illustrator, whose last name doesn’t sound Caucasian, somehow manages to make most of the children & parents look like White Americans. Perhaps it’s the dots for eyes or the narrow range of skin tones or the generic clothes and facial features?? I would have preferred MUCH more variety, and no pale-skinned redheads or blondes playing soccer in Egypt, for example. When I was in Egypt, most kids had brown hair & skin, & those who didn’t were typically tourists. Even the few Caucasian locals had more of a tan. I guess maybe the illustrator was trying to show the universal appeal of soccer? But white faces shouldn’t outnumber brown ones, so that made me cringe. In a book celebrating diversity, whiteness should not be the default.

View all my reviews

Little Chickies/Los Pollitos

Canticos: Los Pollitos / Canticos: Little Chickies by Susie Jaramillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Delightful! ¡Encantador!

What a sweet little book and a clever way to promote bilingual reading experiences to small children. First you read the book straight through in one language (English or Spanish), then when you get to the end, turn the page and read it straight through in the second language. It's printed very cleverly in an accordion format to facilitate this, according to this video. No awkward repetition or lingering on the same pages too long while trying to read in both languages at the same time--I think my daughter will love it instead of getting bored or confused like with other bilingual books!

The book is based on a song, and it looks like the last page of the book contains information on how to find the song online so you can sing the lyrics as well as reading them. Singing is great for helping children break down words into their smaller sounds--an important early literacy skill!

Once I get to see a physical copy, my rating might go up to 5 stars, but I've only seen an ebook version so far, courtesy of NetGalley & the publisher, so I don't yet know how sturdy the flaps and wheels are. Many thanks to NetGalley & Canticos for the ARC!

View all my reviews

I'll Always Love You

I'll Always Love You by Paeony Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My daughter and I LOVE this book. The story is about a little bear who accidentally breaks his mother's favorite honey bowl while trying to surprise her by fixing her breakfast. He's afraid she'll be so mad she won't love him any more, so he tests the waters before he confesses by making up various scenarios of misbehavior to see how she reacts. She always responds with "I'll always love you, but you will have to [insert appropriate consequences here]."

I love that this board book shows children they will be loved no matter what mischief they get into, and there are logical consequences for actions--if you get paint on your baby sister, you will have to give her a bath, etc. I also love that it depicts a child telling the truth even when he knows his mother will be upset and that his relief when he knows he's forgiven allows him to think of a solution for replacing the broken bowl. His "flat brain" becomes three-dimensional again (see Jim Petersen's book Why Don't We Listen Better for reference).

This is a great choice for parents and grandparents (or any other adults) to read to little ones.

View all my reviews

The Goodnight Train

The Goodnight Train by June Sobel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The goodnight train gets set to roll. It's being shined, and filled with coal... that looks remarkably like cookies or cinnamon rolls--yum! This bedtime story board book is delightful, with the children's beds and a bathtub for the skunk making up most of the train's cars. Anthropomorphized animals are the train's conductor, porter, etc. The pajama-clad tots ride the train up the mountain, through the tunnel, around the town, across the plains and fields, until everyone is asleep and arrives home.

The rhythm of the words fits the pacing of the story, and the illustrations are fabulous--fun for little kids but with lots of jokes that will tickle the funny bone of older siblings, parents, and grandparents. My toddler loves it, and even after dozens of readings, I'm still noticing new clever visual gags.

View all my reviews

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick

Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick by Kevin Henkes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great little book about an older sister who doesn't want to share with her younger sister. The illustrations really tell this story and convey Sheila Rae & Louise's feelings better than words could ever do. The last page, however, I often skip when reading to my daughter because it seems like it was tacked on to appease parents, and I don't find it believable. Too saccharine.

View all my reviews

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! by Mo Willems
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is no story to this book--it's a very short list of "things that go," including a joke at the end that will appeal to preschoolers learning about humor. I'm not sure it's suited to be a board book (which is the copy we own) because babies and toddlers won't get the joke. On the other hand, it's really too short to be a proper picture book. Perhaps the board book format just helps keep younger siblings from tearing the pages?

View all my reviews