May 23 – It’s National Family Month

About the Holiday

Observed during the five weeks between Mothers Day and Fathers Day, National Family Month was established by KidsPeace, a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping children and families since 1882. Leading into the school vacation season, the holiday encourages families to spend more time working, playing, talking, and just hanging out together. Today’s book highlights that exciting time when a family grows by welcoming a new baby—with a look through a new sibling’s eyes.

Thanks to WaterBrook and Kathleen Long Bostrom for sharing a copy of Since the Baby Came with me for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Since the Baby Came: A Sibling’s Learning-to-Love Story in 16 Poems

Written by Kathleen Long Bostrom | Illustrated by Janet Samuel

In this insightful, honest, funny, and heartwarming story, a little girl learns that she’s going to be a big sister during a breakfast of blueberry pancakes. To her left is her mama, who surprises her with the announcement, “‘We are having a baby!'” To her right is her daddy with the gift of a “Best Big Sister” T-shirt in hand. She seems dubious as she lets the syrup flow over her stack and onto the table because, she thinks, “Nobody asked me.”

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Image copyright Janet Samuel, 2023, text copyright Kathleen Long Bostrom, 2023. Courtesy of WaterBrook.

In “Mama Is Having a Baby” the girl tries to navigate all the changes that are happening—from her mother’s lap growing smaller to all of her toys being pushed aside for the baby’s crib and necessities to how long it’s taking for the baby to come. She asks God to tell her what happened and to help her to wait. At last her baby brother does arrive, and in “He’s Here! He’s Here!” the little girl expresses her excitement at all the things they can now do together and is sure “We’ll be best friends, the two of us, / and never ever fight or fuss. / He’ll love me more than anyone! / To have him home will be such fun!”

But the reality is different than she imagined, and her emotions begin to ride a rollercoaster from attention-seeking in “Look at Me!” to feelings of neglect and frustration in “When Will This Baby Go Away?” to the horrors of diaper changes in “Diaper Volcano” to dismay about his “bad habits” in “Suppertime.” But then she prays to God. In “Dear God” she says, “Hi, dear God! Remember me? / I need a friend today. / When my thoughts are tangled up, / it helps a lot to pray.” She goes on to explain her mixed feelings about how her life has changed, her brother’s crying, her decreased room space, and how busy her mama is. But she also talks about how she likes to snuggle and sing a lullaby to the baby: “Something happens then dear God. / My heart fills to the brim! / It makes me feel so very glad / to sing my song to him.” She realizes that “with our little baby here, / I’ll never be alone!”

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Image copyright Janet Samuel, 2023, text copyright Kathleen Long Bostrom, 2023. Courtesy of WaterBrook.

With her change of heart, she looks on her brother with new eyes and heart as he sleeps, wondering what he dreams about; is excited when he smiles at her; and discovers in “Maybe” that his “wiggles and giggles” are as “cute as can be” and that “he is amazing.” Now, she decides that her brother can stay with them and that maybe she’d even be open to having “another new brother—perhaps two or three!”

As Christmas comes, the baby has learned to sit up, and the little girl is showing him the story of the baby Jesus, who “was a baby too. / Just like me and just like you.” Splashing in the bathtub together, all of the little girl’s reservations are gone and she can unequivocally state all the reasons why she loves her baby brother. Soon her brother is standing, and in “Me Too!” he reaches out to touch his sister’s finger, sharing a special bond and ability to communicate. The story ends with “Surprise (Part 2)” in which the girl learns that an earlier wish will be fulfilled while her now toddler brother appears dubious.

An explanation of the fifteen types of poetry used in the book follows the story.

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Image copyright Janet Samuel, 2023, text copyright Kathleen Long Bostrom, 2023. Courtesy of WaterBrook.

With an empathetic and witty child’s-eye (and -heart) view of the upheaval, worries, acceptance, and joys of welcoming a new baby into the family, Kathleen Long Bostrom creates a tender story for parents to share with their child or children while waiting for the baby to come and through the stages and changes that come next. Bostrom’s use of realistic, child-centric language and dialogue makes the situations and feelings expressed in each poem immediately recognizable for kids and adults alike, allowing them to easily discuss these events and emotions together. Bostrom’s use of fifteen different types of poetry introduces young readers to the engaging variety and playfulness of this literary form.

Janet Samuel’s vibrant and animated illustrations clearly show the changing family dynamics as the household prepares for the baby and welcomes him home. Images of home, meals, a crowd of family and friends gathered around the baby, a diaper change, and even the idyllic view the little girl has of what life will be like when her baby brother comes home are lovingly and humorously portrayed while depicting real emotions and a touch of familiar chaos. Over the course of the poems, these scenes segue into a calmer routine as the baby begins to sleep, smile, and play; the house becomes orderly once again, and the little girl discovers she loves her brother.

In Since the Baby Came, the trajectory of Kathleen Long Bostrom’s poems and Janet Samuel’s illustrations work beautifully in tandem to create a moving portrait of a family growing in size and love. The book is one that families can dip into during each stage, from pregnancy to homecoming and through a baby’s first year of development, to help new siblings understand the many changes that come, to navigate their feelings, and to welcome their brother or sister into their heart. Since the Baby Came would make a much-appreciated gift and is highly recommended for home, church and school library, and public library collections.

Ages 3 – 7

WaterBrook, 2023 | ISBN 978-0593577684

About the Author

Kathleen Long Bostrom is an award-winning author of over fifty books for children. Her books are published in over twenty languages. She is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who now writes full time. As a middle child, Kathy was both the new baby and the older sister who later became a mother of three herself. She knows whereof she rhymes! Visit her at kathleenlongbostrom.com.

About the Illustrator

Janet Samuel is an illustrator who lives in a small town in Wales with her daughter, Alice, and scruffy terrier, Tilly. Janet has illustrated books for many publishers, including Macmillan, Usbourne, Little Tiger Press, Scholastic, and Lion Hudson. She is happiest with a pencil or paintbrush in hand. You can connect with Janet on Instagram.

National Family Month Activity

Since the Baby Came Parents Resource Guide

You can download this helpful resource guide from Kathleen Long Bostrom’s website. It gives parents age-appropriate tips on preparing a child for a new sibling as well as fun and colorful worksheets adults can share with their child to involve them in choosing a name for the baby; drawing a portrait and album pictures of the family, including the new baby; a “Wheel of Emotions” that provides kids with the vocabulary to describe their feelings; questions adults can ask their older child to begin a discussion; and a fun puzzle.

Videos to Share

You’ll also find two videos of a mom and little girl enjoying two of the poems from the book.

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**You can find Since the Baby Came at these booksellers**

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop

Picture Book Review

January 3 – Book Tour Launch for Love Made Me More

Posted by Kath Carroll

I’d like to thank Two Lions and Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media for sending me a copy of Love Made Me More for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

Love Made Me More

Written by Colleen Rowan Kosinski | Illustrated by Sonia Sánchez

An origami crane reveals how it came to be after its origins as “just a piece of paper—orange with white and blue spots” and the day when “a boy folds me many times, giving me a head, tail, and wings” under the watchful eye of his grandmother. The crane becomes an instant favorite, and for the crane, the boy is “My Boy.” The young child places the crane on his nightstand, so that he sees it right before going to sleep and again as soon as he wakes up.

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Image copyright Sonia Sánchez, 2022, text copyright Colleen Rowan Kosinski, 2022. Courtesy of Two Lions.

Over the years, the origami crane shares in his play, his dreams, and his wishes and it comforts him in his grief of losing a loved one and when shadows scare him. But as the boy grows older, finds new friends and interests, and becomes braver, he talks less and less to the origami crane. And while the crane still sits on his nightstand, the paper has grown dusty.

Then “one day,” the origami crane says,”My Boy places a photograph in front of me. I peek around and see a picture of a girl with an orange, white, and blue shirt. My colors. I fume.” The crane is jealous that “now she is the last thing he sees” at night and the first in the morning. But more years pass, and a day comes when the boy reaches for the origami crane once more. The crane is hopeful that they will play together again as in the past, but instead the boy unfolds it and “scrawls tickling words” on the paper before refolding it.

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Image copyright Sonia Sánchez, 2022, text copyright Colleen Rowan Kosinski, 2022. Courtesy of Two Lions.

The origami crane has not been forgotten during all of these years. In fact, the crane’s stature has only grown, now offered to the girl with a love-affirming question hidden inside. “‘Yes, I will marry you,’ she says.” The crane embraces her as “My Girl too” as the boy refolds it. Soon, the origami crane finds itself in the center of a flock floating above a crib where a baby, wrapped in an orange, white, and blue blanket sleeps. “My colors,” the crane thinks happily.

The crane is proud that his flock is “the last thing Our Baby sees each night and the first thing he sees each morning” and that “he loves us.” As the baby grows into boyhood and learns how to make an origami crane himself—with his father’s crane close by—the origami crane realizes that what has made it so much more than “just a piece of paper” is all the love it has been shown and has been a part of.

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Image copyright Sonia Sánchez, 2022, text copyright Colleen Rowan Kosinski, 2022. Courtesy of Two Lions.

Colleen Rowan Kosinski’s unique story, told from the perspective of an origami crane that has been molded by a boy from a simple piece of paper to become a beloved keepsake, reveals the endurance and transformative power of love. Infused with feelings of belonging and purpose, the story flows through the changes a lifetime brings not only for the boy but for the origami crane. Just as the boy finds friends, meets a girlfriend, gets married, and has a baby, the crane slowly learns to integrate other people and, finally, a flock of origami cranes into its sphere, changes often told with honest emotions and a sense of the years passing by.

When the boy proposes to the girl with the help of the crane and it now accepts his fiancé as “My Girl too,” the crane seems to gain a sense of new life and autonomy when the boy refolds the paper. Instead of defining itself as “his Origami Crane” it now asserts itself as “Origami Crane.” The idea of the importance of being seen, embraced, and given love over an entire lifetime is woven throughout the story and becomes the central theme as the crane realizes that the baby loves it too. Readers take away the knowledge that it is love freely given—and accepted—that makes all the difference in a person’s self-esteem and the way their life evolves.

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Image copyright Sonia Sánchez, 2022, courtesy of Two Lions.

Sonja Sánchez’s vibrant and lively illustrations glow with the magic and comfort that the origami crane brings to the boy’s life as a child. Using angled images, strong lines that suggest the creasing that defines the origami crane, and warm earth tones, Sánchez centers her illustrations on the crane. Pages full of movement and color paint a picture of the boy’s childhood spent playing, wishing, and dreaming with the crane always by his side give way to a spread shrouded in brown, where the boy and his friends appear only as silhouettes and the orange crane, pushed to the side of the desk and dwarfed by the boy’s new interests in a computer, guitar, and other objects, is the only bright spot in the brown and darkened room.

Time passes and within two page turns, the boy, grown into a young man, once again has the crane in hand. Its former glow of magic is back as the boy unfolds, writes on, and refolds the paper. A baby comes along and, like his father, sails into imagination and play with the crane, finally learning how to fold his own crane as he grows into boyhood.

Love Made Me More is a singular story to share with children to reaffirm their special bond with a favorite toy or memento, but more: to remind and reassure them of the power of enduring love, expressed in so many ways, to transform people, experiences, and life itself. The book would be a unique, uplifting, and affecting addition to home, school, and public library collections.

Ages 4 – 8

Two Lions, 2022 | ISBN 978-1542006200

About the Author

Colleen Rowan Kosinski is the author of A Home Again and the author-illustrator of Lilla’s Sunflowers and A Promise Stitched in Time. She received her BA from Rutgers University in visual art, is an alumna of Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art and Design, and spent many years as a successful freelance fine artist. Colleen calls New Jersey her home and resides there with her family. To learn more, and to watch a tutorial on making an origami paper crane, visit www.colleenrowankosinski.com. You can connect with Colleen on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

About the Illustrator

Sonia Sánchez is the illustrator of a number of picture books, including Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina, A Crazy-Much Love by Joy Jordan-Lake, and The Little Red Fort by Brenda Maier. Her books have been nominated for the Eisner Award and named a CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People and a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year. She lives with her husband, her kids, and a sleepyhead cat in Barcelona, Spain. You can connect with Sonia on Instagram.

Love Made Me More Tour Launch Activity

Make an Origami Crane

Follow along with this tutorial from Origami Tsunami to make your own Origami Crane to love!

You can find Love Made Me More at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million

To support your local independent bookstore, order from

Bookshop | IndieBound

Picture Book Review

August 16 – Celebrating the Book Birthday of A Case of the Zaps

Posted by Kath Carroll

Thanks to Abrams Books for Young Readers for sending me a copy of A Case of the Zaps for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own.

A Case of the Zaps

Written by Alex Boniella and April Lavalle | Illustrated by James Kwan

On Robot-Earth there lived a robot named 3.14159… (“or Pi, for short”). Pi liked doing things most young robots did, like “playing music, walking their dog, and hanging out with their Parental Units and friends. Pi also liked sports, science, camping, and exploring, and their favorite food was DW-40. One day at school, their teacher announced that in a month the class would be going on a field trip to Olde Silicon Valley.