Welcome, Precious
A teacher’s look at why this book belongs in the Lap Listeners stage.
Why it fits Lap Listeners (for babies in their first year, when books are about your voice, not the plot)
A lyrical welcome-to-the-world addressed straight to a new baby. The language is rich enough to reward the adult on the fiftieth read. A lovely gift book that actually gets used.
What makes it special
Grimes writes to the newborn directly, welcoming them to sunlight, rain, and the taste of a peach — a poem posing as a board book. Bryan Collier's collage-and-watercolor art layers texture like memory. In a culture that rushes babies toward milestones, this one simply says: you have arrived, and it is enough.
From the publisher
Illustrations and text welcome a new baby to some of life's delights, from "the glistening mystery of soap bubbles" to "the swish of leaves in the…
About Nikki Grimes
Nikki Grimes is a poet and author whose many books for children range from board books to verse novels. In 2017 she received the Children's Literature Legacy Award for her substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.
Born in Harlem in 1950, Grimes began composing verse at six and gave her first public poetry reading at thirteen, at the Countee Cullen Library a block from the hospital where she was born; she later met James Baldwin, whom she calls the single most important influence in her literary life.
Also by this author: Bronx Masquerade · Words with Wings · Garvey’s Choice
More from “Faces Like Mine, Faces Like Yours”
This book is part of The Best Books for Babies: 30 Teacher Picks (Lap Listeners) in our guide The Best Children’s Books by Age — 120 books chosen by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX. Come see how we build readers →
Nobody paid for this review — not the author, not the publisher — and the store link above earns us nothing. Our only interest is the reader this book fits.