Kirkus Reviews

A feisty big-sister-to-be narrates her ambivalence about her mama's impending childbirth. The baby fixations of classmates, aunties and Grandma reinforce Gia's sense that she's got everything to lose when this winter baby comes—Mama'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 winter—a welcome alternative to all those ding-dang spring-baby plots. Fresh and wise. (Picture book. 3-7)

ALA Booklist (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Gia is totally sick of all the talk about the "ding-dang baby" who will come soon ybe when the snow comes, Mama says. Everything in Gia's world seems to revolve around this new arrival. Gia's friends ask her if she wants a brother or a sister; her grandmother and her aunts fuss over Mama; her teacher reads a story about being a big sister; and her uncles arrive to put a crib together. Finally, Gia loses it and yells during Thanksgiving dinner, "I'm so sick of that DING-DANG BABY!" Gia's fury, as well as her loving bond with her single-parent African American mother and her extended family, forms the heart of the story, and the ink-and-watercolor illustrations show mother and daughter telling silly stories, remembering good times, and snuggling up together until finally Gia is cuddling close to feel that ding-dang baby jumping around in Mama's belly. The honest story about jealousy, anger, displacement, and love will touch kids dealing with sibling rivalry and spark their talk about change.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Mama is pregnant with what soon-to-be sibling Gia refers to as ""the ding-dang baby."" Among the indignities she suffers: the in utero baby is already copying Gia's love of pecan pie%E2%80%94a culinary obsession that Gia thought she could share with Mama alone. ""So that baby's just being a copycat!"" gripes Gia. Newbery Honor author Woodson (Show Way) doesn't have new insights into displacement fears: the usual anxieties, oblivious relatives, and reassurances populate her story. But what she does have to say still resonates: ""I know what I'm going to miss the most,"" Gia complains after an outburst at Thanksgiving dinner. ""My whole, whole life."" Blackall's (Big Red Lollipop) stylized ink and watercolor images, with their muted colors and slightly flattened perspectives, have a strong sense of style and calming warmth, as in a scene where Gia sits on the stoop, special memories of her mother spooling outward in squiggly thought bubbles. Gia may have moments when she feels ""real, real, real alone,"" but readers will sense that Mama's love endures%E2%80%94and that Gia is going to be a very cool older sister. Ages 5%E2%80%938. (Oct.)

School Library Journal (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

K-Gr 2 Gia's mother is pregnant, and the child is not happy about it. As the story progresses, so does Gia's resentment until it all comes to a head at the Thanksgiving dinner table when she says quietly at first, and then practically yells, "'I'm so sick of that ding-dang baby!'" She is sent to her room where she has time to think. Mama later shares her feelings of how she, too, is going to miss some of the things that will change when the baby comes. "'Those were the good old days.' says Gia. Mama says, "'Guess you're going to have to tell the baby all about it,' and Gia agrees, 'I guess I am.'" From then on, the girl is reassured and her attitude changes for the better. The one thing that Gia, her mother, and the new baby already share is a love of pecan pie. This sweet universal story will have broad appeal. Blackall's full-spread illustrations done in ink and watercolor gently convey the sense of passing time, along with Gia's frustration and nostalgia regarding how things used to be and how they will change. A fine addition to the new-sibling canon. Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Gia, "thinking about all the years it had been just me and Mama," isn't looking forward to the "ding-dang baby." Gia's narrative voice is prime Woodson--lyrical, colloquial, and imbued with the authentic feelings of a child. Blackall's smooth-edged, Chinese ink and watercolor illustrations dramatize the story's familiar yet comforting message about change, delivered here with unusual warmth and grace.