I Got a Family

Steadily, insistently rhythmic couplets built on a folksy vernacular herald the many and varied kinds of affection a child enjoys--from her Great-Gran, who, confined to a wheelchair, ``loves me still''; from her Auntie, fond of outdoors expeditions, who ``loves me teachin' ''; from her resourceful Mamma, who ``loves me sewin' ''; and from her roughhousing brother, who ``loves me hard.'' This book is at once a purely joyful celebration of family love and a finely seen reminder of the kinds of things that distinguish one family member from another and make each special. It sparkles throughout with the child's buoyancy and her secure sense of a place in the family and, by extension, in the world. Gottlieb's figures are boldly drawn, vibrantly colored and outlined with crayon-thick strokes that economically express both movement and mood. Her expertly composed scenes admirably capture the largesse of emotion contained in these bright verses. Ages 4-7. (May)