Copyright Date:
2020
Edition Date:
2020
Release Date:
10/27/20
Illustrator:
Albertine,
Pages:
1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN:
1-939810-66-3
ISBN 13:
978-1-939810-66-3
Dewey:
E
LCCN:
2020027241
Dimensions:
22 cm.
Language:
English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
The parent becomes the child in this sparsely worded French import.The illustrations, done by 2020 Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award winner Albertine, rest in copious white space. They are spare, delicate line drawings in what appear to be pencil (no other color is applied) of a short-haired, dress-clad adult, as white as the page. All drawings appear on the recto; if one were to flip the book's pages, the drawings would appear animated. The adult exclaims, "Here you are⦠// Finally!" and then cradles a miniscule but fully mature-looking adult, who appears to have emerged from the heart of the speaker. "I've been waiting for you," reads the text. As the adult speaks fondly to the child ("my little one!"), telling them "our story," embracing them, and even swinging them around in the air, the child grows tall. Gradually, the child is as tall as the parent once was while the parent shrinks in size. The child now cradles the parent until, bringing the story full circle, the parent seemingly disappears into the heart of its own offspring. The sense of movement on static pages is compelling-all in the form of fine, simple lines and dynamic page turns. This elegant story may tug more at the hearts of adult caregivers, but it surely provides food for thought for more-contemplative children, who may wonder at the notion that both characters at different times are the subjects of the book's title. (This book was reviewed digitally with 12-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)A playful and poignant take on parenthood. (Picture book. 5-12)
Here you are . . .
Finally!
I've been waiting for you.
My baby, my child, my little one!
You're here now.
With me.
I love you.
And you know what?
I have so many things to tell you.
So, so many things.
I need to tell you everything.
Everything.
I must tell you everything.
From start to finish.
It's very important.
You know?
My baby, my child, my little one!
Excerpted from My Little One by Germano Zullo
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Winner of the 2016 Bologna Ragazzi Award, My Little One is a series of sparse and rhythmic images drawn in simple grey pencil, measuring like a metronome the boundless love between mother and son.
A mother, welcoming her tiny son into the world, tells him the story of their lives, whispering to him as she swings him gently around. With each successive page, he grows while she shrinks, until she is being held by the man he has become. Albertine's weightless strokes and billowing bodies recall the flitting procession of a flipbook or an ephermeral notebook sketch. She choreographs the peculiar dance of aging, of the way our bodies fold, lean, tuck into one another as we grow old. Filled with poetry and questioning, Germano whittles his words down - each precise line reminds us of the pithy goodness of childhood. An eloquent portrait of life's waxing and waning, My Little One is a moving celebration of constant, unconditional love.