Review in Portland Book Review.

Another very good review for The Very Tiny Baby.  In the Portland Book Review. Again, I highlighted my favorite lines.  This book definitely needs to find its audience. 

The Very Tiny Baby

Posted on May 2, 2014 

One Incredible Resource

By Sylvie Kantorovitz
Charlesbridge Press, $14.95, 32 pages
Jacob is going to be a big brother. He is both happy and worried because while a baby might be fun to play with, she might steal his toys. And what if Mommy and Daddy stop loving him the most? Time for the baby to arrive! Oh no! Something has gone wrong. She is premature and very small – too small. What does this mean for Jacob and his family? There are plenty of books on the market celebrating the birth of a new healthy, big baby. But what if the baby isn’t healthy? What if she is dangerously small – so small she might not survive at all? How do you explain this all-too-real scenario to an older sibling who is experiencing the normal feelings that come with gaining a new family member plus the stress of a health crisis? Author Sylvie Kantorovitz’s The Very Tiny Baby is an invaluable children’s book that is quite unique. Based on her own experiences as a sister and mother coping with premature babies, Kantorovitz offers a resource for parents, grandparents or any caretaker with the goal of helping ease the tension and anxiety in a house surprised by the arrival of a preemie.
Written in a child’s scrapbook format, the book shares Jacob’s wealth of feelings as he learns about his very tiny, special new sister. The colors used reflect Jacob’s emotions (yellow and white represent happiness about a new family member he can play with and love, but red and black represent fear, anger, uncertainty and doubt). Jacob expresses very real feelings that parents will likely see in siblings of premature babies. Imagine having to cope with the regular thoughts of jealousy on top of a fear that the new baby might die. This is what Jacob is going through with only his grandmother to help as his parents spend all day and night at the hospital.
Kantorovitz has Jacob deal with circumstances specific to a family going back and forth from home to the hospital in order to care for a special needs baby. Jacob sees Mommy using a breast pump to prepare milk (“Mommy uses a machine. The machine pumps Mommy’s breast and the milk comes out into a little bottle.”) and he learns that his new sibling has to be hooked up to various life-saving machines (“At the hospital, there are machines that help preemies get stronger.”). The illustrations are kid-like drawings that make looking through the book a much more relatable experience.
The Very Tiny Baby will encourage conversations between children and their parents about very sensitive matters. Parents of a preemie will be very thankful to have this resource as they plan how to present information to their older children during a difficult, trying time.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Franklin

Sweet Dreams

  

Good News!  Go to Bed, Monster! is now included in an anthology:  Sweet Dreams, 5-Minute Bedtime Stories.  The whole package is quite appealing.  They did a wonderful job adapting the original book to this new format and page number.  And I am in good company.  Curious George leads the way and Melissa Sweet is one of the other illustrators. 

Hudson Book Festival

 

Saturday was Hudson Children's Book Festival.  Great fun.  Loved seeing some author-illustrator friends there, and making new ones.  

Did some quick simple portraits.  THAT was different.  The people liked what they got and I didn't take pictures.  Darn!

Review in the The BCCB.

Another nice review for The Very Tiny Baby.  In the Bulletin of the Center for children's Books.  Again I highlighted my favorite line:

Kantorovitz, Sylvie The Very Tiny Baby; written and illus. by Sylvie Kantorovitz. Charlesbridge, 2014 32p
Library ed. ISBN 978-1-58089-445-6 $14.95
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-60734-635-7 $6.99                               R 5-8 yrs

Jacob’s parents are expecting a baby, but the usual older-sibling storyline takes on a more serious turn when the baby arrives much too early, ending up in the NICU and sending the family into a tailspin of anxiety and disruption. When Jacob’s parents turn all of their attention to the needs of the preemie, Jacob’s feelings of frustration rapidly evolve into feelings of anger (“I am thinking mean thoughts. I think the baby is ruining my life. I think we should give the baby away. I wish the baby would die”). Even when danger passes, the baby must stay in the hospital, requiring Jacob’s mother to pump breast milk (while Jacob covers his ears in frustration at the noise of the machine). Finally, the baby comes home, and while still a bit uncertain, Jacob appears mostly ready to welcome his tiny sibling. This is not a book to accidentally hand to an unsuspecting soon-to-be older sibling, but it’s a frank look at a common life situation not usually addressed for this age; Kantorovitz deals with Jacob’s very real and intense emotions with unusual honesty and a keen sense of child perspective. The pen, pencil, and gouache illustrations mimic a child’s drawing style, and they’re laid out with hand-lettered text captions in sequential bordered panels against contrasting backgrounds, as if they were in Jacob’s scrapbook. Introduced in the right context and with the right amount of adult support, this could prove a useful story to families in a similar situation; consider purchasing this for your parent shelf rather than your picture-book collection.  HM

Review in SLJ

Here a review of The Very Tiny Baby in School Library Journal.  I am very pleased with the line I have highlited:

KANTOROVITZ, Sylvie. The Very Tiny Baby. illus. by Sylvie Kantorovitz. 32p. Charlesbridge. Mar. 2014. RTE $14.95. ISBN 9781580894456; ebk. $6.99. ISBN 9781607346357. LC 2012038697.

K-Gr 2–Jacob’s parents are excited about their expected baby, but the child isn’t so sure he wants to share the limelight. Then when the infant arrives too early and everyone–even grandma–is so preoccupied with its survival that they don’t pay much attention to him, he’s certain that the new baby is a bad idea. When the baby improves and eventually comes home, though, Jacob, assured of his parents’ love, is ready to assume his roles as big brother and helper. The hand-lettered text appears in several framed rectangles of varying sizes on each page. Most rectangles contain ink drawings colored with gouache and pencils. Although text and illustrations have a childlike quality, the story doesn’t gloss over how fragile life is for preemies, the anxieties experienced by family members, and even the complaints, often expressed here through the mouth of his stuffed bear, of a sibling who feels left out. A striking example is the solid black rectangle covering a page on which Jacob declares, “I wish the baby would die.” Pumping of breast milk, hospital visit precautions, and care of preemies are all depicted. This story can provide information and comfort to youngsters experiencing worry about a sibling born prematurely or even for those who are preparing to share parents with a new brother or sister. –Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

Review from Kirkus

Actually the whole review is posted on the Charlesbridge website.  So I can do it too.  Here it is:

 Kirkus Reviews - February 1, 2014

Just because a book fills a need, that doesn't guarantee its quality; fortunately, this book both addresses premature birth and succeeds marvelously. Like any big brother-to-be, Jacob is conflicted when he hears about his family's upcoming arrival. Sure, he's excited, but teddy bear Bob, clearly Jacob's externalized id, is unafraid to bring up potential problems. Bob's worries are utterly forgotten, however, when the infant arrives far too early, and the grown-ups' fear communicates itself to Jacob. As time wears on, Jacob feels abandoned; all his parents and grandmother think about is their preemie. Reminiscent of the straightforward honesty of a Robie H. Harris title, the storyline doesn't coddle the viewer but acknowledges feelings, both good and bad. From conversations about what's going to happen ("Is the baby going to die? Grandma didn't know") to anger toward the baby itself (a black page contains just an image of Jacob and the words "I wish the baby would die"), Kantorovitz draws on personal experience to give a rounded view of the situation. Images are laid out like snapshots in a family album, drawn in the faux-naif style of Jacob himself, and his childlike narration is printed in a typeface that emulates a child's handwriting. This filter helps to blunt the potential horror even as it honors Jacob's emotions and experiences. A laudably candid effort, unafraid to treat its readership with the utmost respect.

Starred Review!!!

Oh I am so pleased, The Very Tiny Baby received a starred review in Kirkus.   The review will come out in their February issue so I'm not sure I am allowed to post the whole review yet.  Believe me, it's a good one!

From the Charlesbridge FB:  

"A laudably candid effort, unafraid to treat its readership with the utmost respect." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review. THE VERY TINY BABY by Sylvie Kantorovitz. Coming this March! 

http://www.charlesbridge.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=5825