Cover Image

When you were born

by Aston, Dianna Hutts.

Format: Print Book 2004
Availability: Available at 6 Libraries 6 of 6 copies

Available (6)
Location Collection Call #
Bethel Park Public Library Picture Books PB ASTON Dianna
Location  Bethel Park Public Library
 
Collection  Picture Books
 
Call Number  PB ASTON Dianna
 
 
CLP - East Liberty Children's Picture Books j Fic Aston, D
Location  CLP - East Liberty
 
Collection  Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  j Fic Aston, D
 
 
CLP - Main Library First Floor Children's Department - Picture Books j Fic Aston, D
Location  CLP - Main Library
 
Collection  First Floor Children's Department - Picture Books
 
Call Number  j Fic Aston, D
 
 
CLP - Squirrel Hill Children's Picture Books j Fic Aston, D
Location  CLP - Squirrel Hill
 
Collection  Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  j Fic Aston, D
 
 
Pleasant Hills Public Library Picture Book Juv Pict Ast
Location  Pleasant Hills Public Library
 
Collection  Picture Book
 
Call Number  Juv Pict Ast
 
 
Springdale Free Public Library Easy Readers ER ASTO
Location  Springdale Free Public Library
 
Collection  Easy Readers
 
Call Number  ER ASTO
 
 

Summary
With poetic language and magnificent, deeply moving paintings, this beautiful book preserves the sense of awe inspired when a baby is born.

When you were born
you came quietly,
and with eyes deep as an ocean
you looked at me . . .

A new baby is born -- and as family, friends, and neighbors gather to share the joy, they emerge changed. Their world is redefined as they take a moment to remember the past, imagine the future, and marvel at the tiny miracle before them. In poetry as soothing as a lullaby, Dianna Hutts Aston evokes the sense of reverence that surrounds a newborn like enfolding arms. And in radiant, Chagall-like paintings, unlike any he's published before, Coretta Scott King Award­winning artist E. B. Lewis captures a feeling of wonder that will resonate with anyone who has gazed into the eyes of a newborn child.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "PreS. The moment of bonding with a newborn is the subject of this poignant picture book. Mother speaks to Baby about the unforgettable first moment of holding her in her arms. Then she describes the father's embrace, the grandmother's, the grandfather's, the uncle's--each one depicted on its own double-page spread. The family dog makes an appearance, as do neighborhood mothers and kids. Angels are watching. Aston's simple poetry captures the joy and wonder of birth and the physical detail of the infant's fragility and strength (kissing your downy head . . . your curled fists ). Lewis' full-page watercolor-and-marker paintings, worlds away from his usual realism, are exuberantly impressionistic in style, reminiscent of Matisse and the magic realism of Chagall. In strong shades of red, blue, and purple, the art captures the spiritual wonder as well as the joyful embrace. Give this to parents and siblings to read to the baby they love. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2004 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "With breathtaking paintings and a lilting, poetic text, Aston and Lewis present a book that sparkles with the beauty and grace of the subject it celebrates a newborn child. Each stanza repeats the phrase, "When you were born," as the child's mother offers first her own impressions ("you came quietly,/ and with eyes deep as an ocean/ you looked at me") and then describes the reactions of others. Lewis's (Talkin' About Bessie) exquisite illustrations evoke a sense of movement and feeling, as if each onlooker were enveloping the baby in a blanket of love. Like the artists to whom (according to the book jacket) he wishes to pay homage, Lewis's figures echo the colors and shapes of Chagall, Matisse, Redon and Giotto without being derivative. The sophistication of the art may appeal more to parents, but younger children will respond to other elements: bright flowers burst upon the page, houses and trees hang in space, and the arms of rounded figures edged in medieval gold reach to the sky. Aston gradually widens the child's circle from family to community to the world. She grounds complex sentiments in particulars: the grandmother sits "among the pink snapdragons/ in the garden" singing "the lullaby she had sung to me," and the world "hum[s]/ its everyday tune/ of footsteps and voices,/ engines and bells,/ but here/ in our home,/ our souls/ sang with joy." The book incorporates several religious references ("I knew/ you were a gift/ from God," etc.), but these phrases do not draw attention to themselves. A reassuring and heart-warming reminder that each newborn is a rare gift to be treasured. Ages 3-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Additional Information
Subjects Babies -- Fiction.
Mother and child -- Fiction.
Publisher Cambridge, Mass. :Candlewick Press,2004
Edition 1st ed.
Contributors Lewis, Earl B.
Language English
Description 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm
ISBN 0763614386
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