"This is the first time / There's ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do."
In this timeless poem about growing up, Emily Windfield Martin explores all the things you can choose to be, from brave and bold to creative and wise.
Filled with beautiful, quirky illustrations and clever rhyme, grown-ups will love reading this book to their children at any age as they lovingly consider all the possibilities that lie ahead. Its enduring message of love and acceptance as children grow and change is both universal and poignant, and it one to share over and over again.
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Imprint: Puffin
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Published: 06/08/2020
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ISBN: 9780241446959
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Length: 32 Pages
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RRP: £13.99
Reviews
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Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin's text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart.
Kirkus Reviews, Kirkus Reviews
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A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot.
Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin's text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read "This is the first time / There's ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do" capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading "Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?" shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin's fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details-zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-'n'-roll band of mice paralleling the children's own band called "The Missing Teeth"-add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime.
Wonderful, indeed.
Kirkus Reviews, Kirkus Reviews
