From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Hutchins tackles family relationships in this cheerful, cumulative story with a birthday-party finale. In a series of spreads, a child greets her mother, sister, half brother, stepfather, stepbrother, cousin, aunt and uncle, grandparents, and great-grandmother as they arrive for the celebration, carefully stating her relationship to each one of them, e.g., "I'm my mother's daughter" or "I'm my uncle and aunt's niece." As she sits around the table with her relatives, she exclaims, "It's nice to be so many things when- there's only ONE OF ME!" Done in pen and ink and felt-tipped markers, the illustrations radiate color and merriment. The inclusion of an African-American uncle and cousin as well as a blended family that creates his, her, and our children should allow many readers to identify with this family. Popular subject matter, a repetitive text, and vibrant artwork result in a package that is sure to please.
Jody McCoy, The Bush School, Seattle, WACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
PreS-Gr. 2. Like Hutchins'
The Doorbell Rang (1986) and Anne Shelby's
Potluck (1991), this bright, exuberant picture book celebrates diversity and connection in a cumulative chanting story about a party. This time the guests are all family and the occasion is a small girl's birthday. It begins with the child and her mother: "I'm my mother's daughter." Then the birthday girl's sister arrives: "I'm my sister's sister." Then comes her half-brother. She's also her stepfather's stepdaughter, her stepbrother's stepsister, and she's a cousin, a granddaughter, and a great-granddaughter. The chant is cumulative: each new relationship doesn't cancel out the others, but adds to them. The clear, lovely, detailed pictures in pen-and-ink and felt-tip markers show the close multiethnic family. Each right-hand page focuses on one new arrival, while on the left-hand page the relatives already there prepare for the party. The relationships aren't simple (What's the difference between a stepsister and a half-sister?), and kids will want to talk about them. What's great is that this story about the connections of family is also about the different identities of one happy birthday girl.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
