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3 Remote Warehouse Children's Young Adult- Social Issue Fiction- Pregnancy
4 Remote Warehouse Children's Young Adult- Social Issue Fiction- Pregnancy


Waiting for Gregory

by Kimberly Willis Holt

Waiting for Gregory Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The first picture book from National Book Award winner Kimberly Willis Holt

When exactly is cousin Gregory going to be born? asks little Iris. Each family member has a different answer to her question. While she’s waiting for what seems like forever, Iris thinks about all the exciting things she and her new cousin will someday do together. And given Iris’ vibrant imagination, there’s no telling what to expect. National Book Award winner Kimberly Willis Holt offers a unique take on some of the traditional and not-so-traditional myths surrounding a baby’s arrival, with an extra layer of imagination added by Gabi Swiatkowska's fresh and whimsical paintings.

Review:

"Holt's (When Zachary Beaver Came to Town) affectionate story of awaiting a new baby touches on the many myths associated with this joyous event. When young Iris hears that Aunt Athena is expecting a baby boy, to be called Gregory, she eagerly asks everyone, 'When will Gregory be here?' Grandpa says Gregory will arrive 'when the giant stork flies across the sky and drops over your aunt's house.' Grandma says he'll be tucked under a cabbage in the garden. And Iris's friend Lacey says to relax until her aunt has eaten 'a thousand chocolate-chip ice cream sundaes with sour pickles on top.' But waiting for Gregory has its rewards: when Iris finally holds the newborn in her arms, she realizes there is a time and reason for everything. 'Soon, but not too soon, though not too long at all,' says Iris, echoing the adults from the earlier pages, 'Gregory will be waiting for me.' In her artwork, Swiatkowska (My Name Is Yoon) elegantly muses on the elasticity of time and the mystery of gestation. She unmoors her characters from geography and gravity; they float in austere, brush-stroked spaces. Iris is a cross between Velzquez's infanta and a rococo shepherdess; her friend Lacey could have stepped right out of Renoir's Two Little Circus Girls. A stunning final close-up of Iris cuddling the baby seems to be composed of bubbles of pearly, rosy light, bringing the more abstract images back to the cozily familiar. This is one for all ages. Ages 4-7" Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Kimberly Willis Holt is the author of My Louisiana Sky, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, and Keeper of the Night. She lives in Amarillo, Texas.

Gabi Swiatkowska is the illustrator of Arrowhawk and My Name Is Yoon. She lives in Poland.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780805073881
Author:
Swiatkowska, Gabi
Publisher:
Henry Holt & Company
Illustrator:
Swiatkowska, Gabi
Subject:
General
Subject:
Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks
Subject:
Children's 4-8 - Fiction - General
Subject:
Family - New Baby
Subject:
Babies
Subject:
Childbirth
Subject:
Social Situations - Pregnancy
Subject:
Situations / Pregnancy
Subject:
Social Issues - Pregnancy
Subject:
Infants
Publication Date:
April 2006
Binding:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Illustrations:
YES
Pages:
32
Dimensions:
11.22x9.24x.34 in. .81 lbs.
Age Level:
04-08

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