All Kinds of Kisses
Written & Illustrated by Nancy Fafuri
Little Brown and Company • 2012 • 32 pages
Hardcover ($16.99)
ISBN: 978-0-316-12235-1
Ages 3-6
All babies love their mommies’ kisses. This is also true in this book, which celebrates a mother’s love as it introduces children to mommy and baby farm animals. Like the readers who followed the caterpillar that appeared on the pages of In the Tall, Tall Grass (Henry Holt and Co., 1995), the children reading this book will follow a blue bird as it flies through a farm and encounters different animals kissing their offspring. There are “cheep” kisses, “moo” kisses, “cooo” kisses, “meow” kisses and last (but not least), a mommy’s good night kiss to her child.
Read Related: Family Jamming, Andrea Echeverri Style
Caldecott Honor Medal winner Tafuri uses her trademark watercolors and colored pencils to illustrate the different mamas and their cuddly babies. Each animal pair is depicted over a full two-page spread for maximum effect. The illustration of a hen’s black and white feathers and bright red eyes offer an excellent example of how rich textures may be appreciated in printed art. A fun read for parents and children—who can choose to imitate the sounds the animals make as they kiss their young—this book is sure to become a bedtime classic.
—Reviewed by Dr. Veronica Covington, School of Information, University of Texas, Austin
