Now I'm Big!

December 24, 2012
Babies are so déclassé—just ask a former one. “When I was a baby I drank from a bottle and ate with my fingers. What a mess!” writes Katz (The Babies on the Bus) in the guise of one of several supremely mature preschool-age narrators. The adorably embarrassing flashback (the baby carrier! the high chair! the horror!) is paired with a present-day scene of the girl, eating politely at the table. “Now I’m big! I can eat with a fork and a spoon, and drink from a cup!” In perhaps the biggest triumph of all, one of the children is now a mini-Mommy, helping care for her new baby sister. Although Katz underplays the physical difference of an older child—her preschoolers look like large babies, with the same ginormous round heads—the characters display so much happiness and pride in their developmental leaps that it seems downright nap-
deprived cranky to complain. The confident sunniness of this book, with its bright, nursery palette and simple graphic shapes, might also serve as a gentle nudge for readers still clinging to their babyish ways. Ages 1–5.

February 15, 2013
There's a lot to like in this book about all things "big kid." The first-person voice seamlessly shifts from one spread to another, attributing itself to characters of different races and genders. A pattern emerges through page design that shows a baby on the verso with text starting "When I was a baby..." and an older child on the recto with text reading "NOW I'M BIG" and expounding on how he or she can now do things that were impossible during babyhood. Katz's signature, colorful, stylized characters rendered in watercolor and gouache romp through the pages, culminating with a little girl reveling in her new status as big sister to the new baby in her family. Earlier, one scene showing a baby in a playpen (who grows up to run around the park with friends) might seem a bit dated given rising concerns about the safety of such baby gear, but the real safety no-no comes at book's end when the aforementioned big sister jumps on her bed while holding the tiny new baby by the arms. It's a joyful scene, to be sure, but the sight of a teddy bear falling off the bed as the sisters spring up and down bespeaks a doubtlessly unintended sense of peril in this otherwise gentle book. Faux pas aside, it's a sweet celebration of leaving baby days behind. (Picture book. 2-5)

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March 1, 2013

PreS-A celebration of growing up, depicted via a series of before-and-after vignettes. Different preschool narrators take turns reminiscing about how life has improved now that they are "big." Youngsters will identify with the small triumphs of independence, such as working a zipper, feeding oneself, and playing with friends at the park. Throughout, each child is shown as an infant and, on the opposite page, as an independent preschooler. Katz's watercolor and gouache illustrations are consistent with what fans have come to expect. A pleasant choice that deserves a place in most collections.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ

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