Mama's Belly

March 5, 2018
A child with bouncy, brown curls lives with her serene, pregnant mother and attentive father in their lakeside cabin filled with handmade quilts. The child anticipates the arrival of her baby sister: “Mama has a belly rising up, like a wave. Inside is my sister, waiting to meet me.” She wonders if her sister will have freckles, whether her sister knows her already, and if she will have to share her blanket. Her mother’s answers are patient and clear: “That blanket will always be yours,” she says. “But let’s make another one for your sister.” Halpin creates a tranquil natural landscape in her lush, earth-toned paintings, while indoor scenes are infused with warmth; the absence of modern technology, beyond an array of snapshots, provides an air of timelessness. Readers awaiting the arrival of a sibling will gain assurance that there will be more than enough love to go around. Ages 5–up.

April 1, 2018
A young girl eagerly awaits the arrival of her baby sister and has lots of questions for her parents.From the physical to the existential, this girl asks them all over the course of what seems to be a single day: "When are you coming out?" "Does my sister know me already?" "Will my sister have freckles?" "Do I have to share my blanket?" "Will your lap ever come back?" "Will you have enough love for both of us?" All are answered satisfactorily, the last with a gentle, "More than all the stars in the sky." Mama and Papa both encourage the girl to participate in getting ready for the baby and look back with her to the days when she herself was a baby. The brilliant jewel tones on mostly white backgrounds keep the focus on the family relationships and the girl's shifting emotions. A not-always-subtle leaf motif links the illustrations, sometimes overtly inked in the backgrounds, at other times found in the pattern on a chair or Mama's dress. Papa is a pale, bearded redhead; Mama is darker skinned with kinky black curls escaping her updo. Their daughter has pale skin, freckles, and wild brown curls. Unlike other new-baby books, the baby has not arrived by the last page, though the colophon does show a cozy family portrait of four. A good book to share with children eagerly awaiting their own siblings. (Picture book. 3-6)

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July 1, 2018
A young girl prepares for a baby sister. Her first-person observations ("Mama's belly is making her grumpy") and questions ("Will your lap ever come back?") aptly capture pregnancy from a child's point of view. Natural motifs feature in Halpin's illustrations--a mixture of poignant domestic vignettes and serene scenes outside the lakeside home--mirroring the growth and change of this family-in-transition.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)