IF THE BOOK FITS...READ IT

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born

AUTHOR: Jamie Lee Curtis

ILLUSTRATOR:  Laura Cornell

ISBN#: 978-0064435819

PUBLISHER/YEAR:  HarperTrophy (August 29, 2000)  
SUBJECTS:  Adoption, Babies, Humorous Stories, Excellent Read-Aloud

READER LEVEL: Picture Books

RATING: 

Review Highlights:

Laugh Meter	not a comedy	giggles	laugh out loud	can’t stop laughing
Fear Factor	no fear	needs explanation	cover the eyes	bad dreams
Subject Matter	light : “G”	mild concerns	caution ahead	needs supervision

A Word About Jamie Lee Curtis/Laura Cornell Books

I am immediately suspicious of "celebrity" children's books, but that is quite unnecessary when it comes to Jamie Lee Curtis' books.  These books are really terrific, across the board, and hold a lot of value for young readers and adults alike.  Each book is chuck full of "messages", but they are never, ever, preachy.  And each book speaks candidly to children about growing up, young and old, gently and with lots of humor.  My youngest child enjoys these books for the humor and language, and my older children can sit quietly with them and enjoy the story or relate them to their own processes of growing up.  The Jamie Lee Curtis/Laura Cornell books seem more than an author/illustrator collaboration.  I don't think you can have one without the other.  The pictures speak as loudly as the words and are a large part of the comedy.  Altogether it's a winning group of works by two clearly talented artists.

About this Book  

Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is about the start of a family, from the point of view of an adopted child.  The beauty in this story is that a young reader will relate to the story and see themselves in it, whether they were adopted or not.  And that to me is the sign of a well-written story, especially about a tough topic for some children. Curtis/Cornell have completely diffused the issue and made it very matter-of-fact.  Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is about a family coming together from a place of love and that message is that's all that matters.  I highly recommend this story for every kind of family, no matter how you draw your family tree.  It's just a beautiful story about the birth of a family.

IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY:

Where Do Balloons Go?, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
Big Words for Little People, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
Today I Feel Silly, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
I'm Gonna Like Me, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
It's Hard to Be Five, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
Is There Really a Human Race, Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes

AUTHOR: Mem Fox

ILLUSTRATOR:  Helen Oxenbury

ISBN#: 978-0152060572

PUBLISHER/YEAR: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (September, 2008)

SUBJECTS: Rhyming Language, Babies, Diversity

READER LEVEL: PICTURE BOOK

RATING: 

Review Highlights:

Laugh Meter	not a comedy	giggles	laugh out loud	can’t stop laughing
Fear Factor	no fear	needs explanation	cover the eyes	bad dreams
Subject Matter	light : “G”	mild concerns	caution ahead	needs supervision

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes is a lyrical story about the commonalities of the human race.  That is large description to put on a picture book for the youngest reading audience, but it is fitting.  

Mem Fox, here collaborating with illustrator Helen Oxenbury, has created a beautiful story of all kinds of babies.  While the babies in this story are all born in very different places and circumstances, they all have ten little fingers and ten little toes.

On the surface this is a delicious little story to snuggle in with your baby or toddler and enjoy.  On a higher level it is an allegory that imparts the message that despite enormous global differences, we (as a human race) are all, at the core, the same. 

Enjoy this story in either way that you chose, we just ask that you enjoy it!  We love it. It would make a lovely gift for a newborn.

IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY:

Time for Bed, Mem Fox

Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge, Mem Fox

On the Day You Were Born, Debra Frasier