You Are Special, Little One
PreSchool-K-This simple text, accompanied by Tafuri's delicate watercolor inks and colored-pencil drawings, features six baby animals in a variety of habitats asking their parents the same question: "How am I special?" The adults describe the youngsters' unique qualities and assure them of their love. The lions, prairie dogs, penguins, beavers, meadowlarks, foxes, and humans are drawn first in their natural surroundings and shown on the next spread in close-up. Each family consists of two parents and one child. This book is a tender read-aloud, with a nice rhythm to the repeated phrase, "-we will love you forever and ever and always." The illustrations include other creatures to look for in the background. A list of all the animals is included on the copyright page. (However, king penguins and arctic terns do not share the same habitat.) This is a peaceful and beautifully drawn bedtime story, but it may well cause parents to drop off, too.Jane Barrer, Washington Square Village Creative Steps, NYCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.