Up!: How Families Around the World Carry Their Little Ones

by Susan Hughes, Ashley Barron (Illustrator)

Overview

Around the world, little ones are carried in many different ways: in slings, on shoulders, in backpacks, on hips, in baskets, and in loving arms. Up! depicts ten places around the world, from Afghanistan to northern Canada, Peru to West Africa. In each place, a mom, dad, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or sibling lovingly carries a baby.

With various family configurations and settings ranging from a busy outdoor market to a high-rise apartment kitchen, the book wholeheartedly celebrates diversity. Gorgeous cut-paper collage art adds warmth and brightness, and brings the lyrical text to life. Repetition of the phrase “Upsy-daisy” on each spread lends familiarity, and reminds readers that love for a little one is a universal feeling.

LEVELING
Grade Range: Pre-K–2
Fountas & Pinnell: I
Reading Recovery: 15
Lexile: AD 400L

COMMON CORE
L.1.5,5b,5c,5d,6
W.1.1,2,3,5,6,7,8
RF.1.1,2,3,3f,3g,4,4a,4c
L.1.1,1b,1d,1g,1I,1j,2,2a,4,4c
RI.1.1,2,3,4,6,7,8,10
SL.1.1,1b,1c,2,3,4,5,6

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771471763
Publisher:	Owlkids Books
Publication date:	04/11/2017
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 8.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Susan Hughes is the author of over 30 children’s books, including Off to Class and Making Canada Home. She is also a freelance editor and story coach for both novice and experienced writers. She lives with her family in a house with a bright red door in Toronto, Ontario.

Ashley Barron graduated from OCAD’s illustration program. Her award-winning cut-paper collage illustrations have appeared in magazines, children’s publications, websites, posters, animations, store windows, and set designs. Ashley is the illustrator of Kyle Goes Alone and the Math in Nature series. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

"The book makes a clear and pointed effort to promote all kinds of diversity and depict a variety of cultures in a beautiful and respectful light...the concept is very clever, and the three-dimensional cut-paper collage work is exquisitely textured and boldly colored. Barron's past awards are clearly warranted."

Booklist

"An utterly charming and beautifully illustrated book that celebrates diversity in all forms while simultaneously exploring cultures around the world."

Canadian Review of Materials

"A wonderful collection of vignettes from around the world...a global story of life and love."

CanLit for Little Canadians

05/01/2017
Toddler-PreS—Whether bouncing on a brother's hip or nestled in an auntie's sling, babies around the world are carried safe and snug. In this picture book ode to familial love, Barron's cut-paper collage illustrations depict a diverse array of family members caring for babies throughout the day. An African mother cradles her infant in her arms while dropping off an older child at school; in a high-rise city apartment, a father in a wheelchair holds his son close; two babies swing gently in baskets as their uncle conveys them across a rice paddy; and on a sunny beach, a biracial family plays in the sand. Hughes's buoyant text works well for reading aloud. Each spread incorporates the refrain "Upsy-daisy," addresses the baby directly, and clearly identifies the family member portrayed. The vibrant background settings are not identified specifically but are clearly international and present day. A First Nations grandmother in a northern snowscape wears eyeglasses and a barrette along with her parka, and her village contains modern buildings, with nary an igloo in sight. Busy market scenes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East include cars as well as animal carts and people in both traditional and contemporary clothing. The exceptional depth, texture, and movement of Barron's paper art provide plenty of visual interest to engage young audiences. VERDICT Detailed illustrations of realistically diverse families elevate a simple concept. Ideal for sharing one-on-one with toddlers and preschoolers.—Chelsea Couillard-Smith, Hennepin County Library, MN

School Library Journal

2017-02-04
Diverse caregivers and babies populate this picture-book depiction of caring and carrying.Inclusivity is a hallmark of this book, but it stumbles a bit at the outset by naming two regions alongside nations: "From West Africa to Peru, from Egypt to Canada's Far North, from Korea to India, from Poland to China and Afghanistan…families carry their babies in many different ways." Why not name a specific West African nation or culture? A specific Arctic people? Nevertheless, depictions of families in those places and in that order use detailed, striking cut-paper collages to consciously highlight and value diversity. For example, girls and women wear the hijab on the spreads for Egypt and Afghanistan, and the depicted Korean father uses a wheelchair while wearing his baby on his chest in a carrier. Some spreads are less invested in culturally specific modes than are others. The mother in West Africa, for example, simply carries her baby in her arms, and the Egyptian brother carries his baby sibling on his hip. Others, like what seems to be a depiction of an Inuit amauti in the North Canada spread, are culturally grounded. Repetition of the phrase "upsy-daisy, baby" threads through all interactions, culminating in a scene with a loving multiracial family in an unspecified waterside setting, where a sister picks up her baby sibling. A celebration of baby love as it's carried out all over the world. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews