My Daddy and I (Black Butterfly Board Books) - Hardcover

PreSchool-- Four board books that feature African-American characters and cover several areas of a young child's experience (playing with pals of various ages, enjoying a parent's company, experimenting with musical instruments, and having a favorite doll, respectively). The four titles are loosely related by virtue of their illustrations: Gilchrist's watercolor and pen-and-ink work is both realistic and pretty, with soft background washes projecting a sensitive, thoughtful attitude. Fairly fine detail, especially in facial expression, gives the books a sophistication atypical of the genre. This foursome is a functional unit, offering en masse a variety of approaches to life situations ( Daddy and I seems to feature a single parent, for example, while a two-parent household shows up in I Make Music ) and avoiding stereotypes (e.g., a boy with a doll in My Doll ). Greenfield's sweet and simple texts are in verse in all but Big Friend . Although all of these titles stand alone, their combined success is greater; they represent a range of topics, moods, and emotions seldom seen in this format. --Liza Bliss, formerly at Leominster Pub . Lib . , MA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The creators of Nathaniel Talking and Night on Neighborhood Street here introduce a series of board books featuring black children that describe everyday activities familiar to all kids. The first three books are written in simple, if occasionally strained, rhyming verse and concern a boy and girl who play with a doll; a girl and her parents who make music together; and a boy and his dad doing household chores. The fourth--and strongest--story, told by a boy who enjoys playing with two friends is written in pithy sentences that beginning readers will easily master. The volumes' themes of the rewards of working and playing together are reinforced by Gilchrist's cheerful if repetitious illustrations, which focus on each tale's characters but contain little background detail. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.