Crescendo

Addressed directly to an unborn child, this luminous Italian import presents a fetus’s in-utero growth with whimsy and sophistication. Each spread marks awe-inspiring developments, starting with weeks five and six: “You are as big as a sesame seed/ Your heart already trots.” Rendered in glowing color washes, accompanying illustrations throughout feature ethereal images of flowers and birds, frolicking mammals and rushing swimmers, and pink-tinged skies, all bordered at the left with a recurring, gently curving abstract shape, which readers will eventually recognize as a parent’s growing stomach. Quintavalle’s milestones alternate between basic facts (“You cannot see”), and flights of poetic fancy (“Your eyes conserve the color of the night sky”), and many carry the deeply reassuring messages that each child is both wholly unique and eagerly anticipated: “Mother earth is ready to greet you and so am I.” Young children won’t need to understand the meaning in every line to appreciate this original offering, which brims with warmth, love, and wonder. A list of developmental facts concludes. Ages 4–up. [em](Feb.) [/em]