Horn Book Review
Gia's not looking forward to the "ding-dang baby," so evident in Mama's beautifully rounded belly, despite the happy anticipation voiced by supportive family and friends. Even her teacher seems to be in on the plot to be positive, while Mama's wisely understated cajoling leaves Gia feeling as aloof as ever, "thinking about all the years it had been just me and Mama...drinking hot chocolate and telling silly stories." But when Mama admits that she, too, will miss the "good old days," Gia agrees that she'll "have to tell the baby all about it." After all, that baby is already sharing the delicious pie that's Gia and Mama's favorite. Gia's narrative voice is prime Woodson -- lyrical, colloquial, and imbued with the authentic feelings of a child who might be as old as eight or as young as five, and Blackall's smooth-edged, Chinese ink and watercolor illustrations show the little family of two thriving in their simple, cozy home. Gently, the art clarifies and dramatizes the truth that change may feel threatening even in the most wholesome and loving environment -- a familiar message, but a comforting one, delivered here with unusual warmth and grace. joanna rudge long (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
everything to lose when this winter baby comesMama's gentle remonstrances notwithstanding. Woodson infuses Gia's primal child-voice with an authorial lyricism that permits some lovely, lucid introspection. During a "baby-this and baby-that" Thanksgiving dinner, an outburst ("I'm so sick of that DING-DANG BABY!") gets Gia banished to her room. "Upstairs, I got that teary, choky feeling. And even though there were a whole lot of people in my house, I felt real, real, / real alone." Blackall's apt watercolor-and-ink pictures capture the grounded serenity of a multiracial family (and community) with its priorities on straight. Beloved Gia's got corn rows and a sweet gap between her front teeth. The fact that a dad or other mom doesn't figure in renders her conflict more poignant. Cleverly, the story arc spans autumn's slide into wintera welcome alternative to all those ding-dang spring-baby plots. Fresh and wise. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
