In My Heart
PreSchool-K–A cheerfully reassuring book in which a mother describes her day and that of her child, during which she unfailingly holds the boy in her heart. The cast of characters (family, colleagues, and friends) is multicultural. Mixed-media illustrations, as busy as the woman's day, are rendered in bright, saturated colors. Many of the beginning letters of the words are oversize and become a part of the artwork (e.g., the Y in a You is depicted as two crossed hands holding a heart in which the child floats). Hearts abound. Though the theme of a parent's devotion even in absence is consistent to the point of repetitiveness, the layout and design are not. From full-bleed spreads to neatly framed vignettes to two pages of illustrated building blocks, there is a lack of coherence in composition that seems to stand in opposition to the intended message. Not a real story, but for the child for whom separation brings anxiety, a warmhearted antidote.–Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.