Customer Reviews

More More More, Said the Baby

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I'm torn between what I think of the book and what my daughter thinks. She's 17 months old and wants to read this book daily. I, like other reviewers, found the text a bit awkward at first. Now that I've read it aloud about a million times and added my own twists and actions to accompany the story (kisses on the tummy, toes, eyes) I'm getting lulled into liking the book too. I LOVE that the white grandmother has a black grandbaby and that the daddy is a super dad and that there is an asian mother and daughter. The illustrations don't grab me because they have kind of a messy look, but they obviously grab my girl, because she just stares and stares at each page. So...take what you will from this review. For the amount of fun it's given us, despite my initial misgivings, I think it's worth a try. In fact, I'm buying it for a friend's baby for xmas.

In three separate vignettes, three toddlers are chased, hugged, tickled, cuddled, kissed, and tucked into bed by parents or grandparents until they beg for "more more more." The active physicality of the characters is matched with colloquial, rhythmic language - "Little Pumpkin scoots away so fast Little Pumpkin's grandma has to run like anything just to catch that baby up. But Little Pumpkin's grandma catches that baby up all right." The book is oversized (10"x11") and illustrated with bright and colorful gouache paintings. Each illustration is framed with a colorful border that bleeds to the edge of the page and the text itself is mottled with color. The backgrounds of the illustrations are mostly flat planes of color, putting the focus on the interaction between the children and adults. The three adult-child relationships portrayed represent a racially diverse selection of families, notably including an apparently multiracial child. The story does not necessarily make a subject of ethnicity, however the repetition of many elements among the stories does demonstrate the universality of the affection and tenderness that parents and grandchildren have for their children, perhaps subtly suggesting that this commonality supersedes any superficial difference based on race. The rhythmic language makes this a superb read-aloud book for toddlers and older children of any ethnic makeup. With the final vignette focusing on a sleepy toddler being put to bed, this is also appropriate bedtime or naptime reading.

This short book for preschoolers depicts three babys who are playing with, respectively, a father, a grandmother, and a mother. It is simply a story of the love of children. Interestingly, the second child is African-American but the grandmother appears not to be so. This is the first Caldecott book I've seen suggesting the existence of interracial families. If I'm correct, I readily applaud the author. But, even if I'm wrong, it is still a beautiful book of love. The book was a 1991 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children.

I've had this book for years, but only just now started reading it to my baby.

Looking at the lush painted illustrations from a fresh perspective, I am amazed again at Williams' diversity of characters, as shown not just by the variety of ethnicities that other reviewers have mentioned, but economic and other types of diversity as well.

The daddy, for example, in Little Guy's love story, is white but wears shorts and thong sandals on his feet instead of the basic black daddy footwear of most books. Is he unemployed, having a day off, or perhaps a stay-at-home dad?

In Little Pumpkin's story, not only is the grandmother of this black baby rather white, she's also rather young - at least, young enough to still have blonde hair. And is she babysitting, or - like many grandmas these days - actually raising Little Pumpkin?

Finally, I love the illustrations that accompany the Little Bird story because as the baby sleeps, the mother is converting a sofa/daybed to a cozy sleeping place for the baby. Not every baby has her own bedroom, and not every family can afford a crib or toddler bed.

It amazes me every time I read the story that Little Bird is no less loved than a baby with a more elaborate nursery. These may seem like little things, but I believe even babies look for themselves in the stories we read to them. In More More More, my baby - who has no nursery of her own - will see the kind of unconditional love that transcends ethnic or economic stereotypes.

The tone of this book is soothing, though the lilting words and some phrases were a little odd for me at first ("little guy's father has to run so hard just to catch that baby up"). But through repetitions and simple, uncomplicated rhythms, this is a lovely going-to-bed book once you've got its cadences down pat.

This is a marvellous book for a wide range of ages... my sleepy 9-year-old daughter still loves to listen to it, along with her 4-month-old sister. Get this book and then "catch your baby up" to share it with her!

I got her this book a week ago, she was immediately enthralled. Had to bring the book with her during her nap, had to sit with it and "read" it for hours (she's not yet 20 months, so this is impressive). This might, however, be less from the fact that it's a special book than from the fact that it's the first non-board book she's been allowed to hold.

I don't find the text hard to read, nor do I think the phrase "catch that (note spelling) baby up" is especially nonstandard. Even if I did, I think that hearing standard grammar from her family all the time is much more likely to influence how she speaks than hearing one phrase from a book a few times.

As far as the interracial family is concerned, she was thrilled and yelled "mommy" when she first saw it (her dad is black, but my sister is white). I doubt that this would confuse her even if her parents weren't an interracial couple - after all, parents often don't look like their children, and kids are smarter than many parents give them credit for.

Edit: Three years later, and an amusing anecdote to prove my point. My niece (now my *older* niece) was sitting for lunch with me, a black friend, and a white, blonde, very fair-skinned acquaintance. The acquaintance had come with her nanny, a black woman, and wanted to share our lunch. First the black friend (four years old at the time, but almost five) told her to "ask her mommy" (pointing to the nanny), then the acquaintance said "Oh, that's not my mom, that's my babysitter. You can tell she's not my mom because" (and this is the part that made me laugh very quietly into my sandwich) "because my mommy has BROWN hair and she has BLACK hair". The much more obvious trait of skin color didn't even come to mind to any of them - and of them all, my niece is the only one who is biracial. /end edit

The dad is definitely not "indecent", I don't know where that idea came from. He's fully dressed.

The actual printed words, though, are slightly hard to read - they're painted in a multicolored format that blends into the page, so you need good eyesight to read them. And while *I* like simple pictures (the pictures never have more than three items in them - two people and a piece of furniture), I know that many people like complex images in their picture books. So I'm giving it four stars instead of five.

Williams, V. B. (1990). More, more, more said the baby. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Synopsis: The book contains three short stories about babies and the adults that love them. The first story is about a Caucasian father and his baby, Little Guy. Little Guy and his daddy swing and play together and Little Guy want to play more. The second story is about an African American grandmother and her grandchild, Little Pumpkin. Little Pumpkin's grandmother tickles her and plays with her toes, and Little Pumpkin wants more. The third story is about an Asian American mother and her baby, Little Bird. Little Bird's mama has to put her tired baby to bed.

Evaluation: This picture book has beautiful gouache illustrations that are bright and colorful. Vera Williams makes it easy for the reader to picture playing with an infant or young child through both the text and illustrations. All three babies in the book could represent your next door neighbor, a sibling, or a child. The book does a wonderful job of creating a child's desire for lots of positive adult interaction. Young children will be interested in this book because of the inviting illustrations and relating to the experiences of being tickled, chased, and loved. Adults will enjoy the loving reminder of enjoying the simple things in life like a laughing or sleeping child.

I bought this book for my daughter, who is 18 months old. It took all of one reading to be added to her list of favorites--she constantly asks for "more more babies". The pictures are wonderful for toddlers, simple and brightly colored. Not only do little ones love the story--lots of repeated elements, little people like them--it's virtually impossible to read it to a child without cuddling. This has become part of my standard baby gift package.

Vera B. Williams is a genius at taping the wonderful world of a child and has written an excellent, gentle, and engaging book for first read-alongs. Our whole family adores this pass-along treasure, and my daughter now reads it to our little boy.

Like more and more Americans, we are a mixed race family, but we often have a hard time finding books that reflect our normalcy. Thank God we had this book for our children, which shows a white Grandmother with a black granddaughter, a white man and a white little boy, and an Asian Mommy with her little girl. For the longest time, mercifully, our children thought these were stories about the same family, since this world in miniature reflects their own in real life. Thanks you, Vera Williams.

The illustrations are a little hard to get used to, as they are mixed media and `lost wax' crayon, where surface colors are scratched away to reveal base colors below. My children and I instantly loved them, as they look like our own smeary results when we work on something together. Still, many unfamiliar with the technique would assume the art is unfinished or poor quality, but I assure you your children will love them.

The stories themselves are awkward if you are trying to read them as narrative, but you must carefully listen for the scansion, for Vera Williams has a wonderful ear for rhythm of a few simple words and the common skill of repetition that help children engage with words, and therefore their world.

The form of three is the dominant construct in this work. Three stories, three children, three adults, three relationships, and three repetitions of the actions, and three cries of "more, more, more."

This is an excellent first-words first-stories book, which will nonetheless always prove to be a memorable favorite for your older children. I cannot recommend it enough.

This book was a gift from a Professor of Education and Child Development to my newly adopted three year old. When she arrived, she did not speak any English. After one week, she was able to understand More, More, More and enjoyed finishing the sentences as I read to her. It was a book she requested each and every bedtime and is still one of her favorites. I highly recommend it!

I first found this book in my local library and had to add it to our collection. The big bright pages and adorable babies had my toddler crying, "More, More, More!" The stroies are simple and heartfelt, showing the close bound between a baby and those who care for him or her. My family truely cherishes this book, a true work of art, and so will your family!