The Wonderful Things You Will Be

Starred review from May 11, 2015
The wealth of possibilities contained within even the tiniest child is the subject of Martin’s (Day Dreamers) love letter from parent to offspring: “When you were too small/ To tell me hello,/ I knew you were someone/ I wanted to know.” This potential can be seen in everything children do, from working in a garden (“Will you learn what it means/ To help things to grow?”) to bandaging a toy bear. The book concludes with a double gatefold, drawn as a proscenium-style curtain, that reveals a group of eccentrically costumed children (a robot, a pencil, a log) to represent the idea of becoming “anybody/ That you’d like to be.” Martin’s characters generally exhibit a preternatural sense of self-possession, but this book’s subject matter adds another layer of meaning to the poised poker faces on display. Her children are so serious (even when swinging on a swing) and so unflappable (even when tailoring a pair of pants for a squirrel) that they convey not just hope for the future, but a sense of manifest destiny. Ages 3–7. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

Starred review from June 15, 2015
A love song to baby with delightful illustrations to boot. Sweet but not saccharine and singsong but not forced, Martin's text is one that will invite rereadings as it affirms parental wishes for children while admirably keeping child readers at its heart. The lines that read "This is the first time / There's ever been you, / So I wonder what wonderful things / You will do" capture the essence of the picture book and are accompanied by a diverse group of babies and toddlers clad in downright adorable outfits. Other spreads include older kids, too, and pictures expand on the open text to visually interpret the myriad possibilities and hopes for the depicted children. For example, a spread reading "Will you learn how to fly / To find the best view?" shows a bespectacled, school-aged girl on a swing soaring through an empty white background. This is just one spread in which Martin's fearless embrace of the white of the page serves her well. Throughout the book, she maintains a keen balance of layout choices, and surprising details-zebras on the wallpaper behind a father cradling his child, a rock-'n'-roll band of mice paralleling the children's own band called "The Missing Teeth"-add visual interest and gentle humor. An ideal title for the baby-shower gift bag and for any nursery bookshelf or lap-sit storytime. Wonderful, indeed. (Picture book. 1-4)

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June 1, 2015

PreS-Childhood is a time full of potential, and Martin celebrates this promise in this work. The general premise of Dr. Seuss's classic, Oh, The Places You'll Go is pared down to elegant simplicity. "Will you stand up for good/By saving the day?/Or play a song only you/Know how to play?" While the rhyming text falters a bit in spots, the word choice overall is spare, inspiring, and accessible to preschoolers. Children are encouraged to be kind, clever, and bold, to take care of the small, and to help things grow. Martin's oil paintings have the same retro, mid-century feel as her other illustrations, with large-eyed children of many ethnicities playing, gardening, and sharing together. VERDICT A go-to gift for new parents, and a potential bedtime favorite for many children.-Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015
Preschool A parent talks to her (or his) child and ruminates on all things there are to do or be. After all, this is the first time that there's ever been you. Sometimes the list seems to put pressure on the child ( Will you stand up for good by saving the day? ), but there are also more doable activities: taking care of small animals or being kind. While the text can be purposeful, the artwork truly soars. Martin presents a cast of multicultural children adorable in every way. Some wear knowing expressions, wise beyond their years, while others, like the African American sister and brother sharing an ice cream cone, have a pure innocence. The thickly brushed paintings, although distinct in their own way, may remind readers of both Sophie Blackall's and Gabi Swiatkowska's artwork, the first for the sheer delightfulness of the characters, and the latter for inventive design, particularly evident in a final foldout spread that features costumed characters and invites children to imagine who they would like to be. A thoughtful book to share.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)