Plenty of Hugs

February 1, 2020

Baby-Toddler-An interracial family consisting of two moms and a toddler bicycle through a busy summer day, offering invitations to readers to observe the world around them. Alizadeh's pencil and digital illustrations are vivid and inviting, and continually capture moments of affection from the excited toddler waking up his still-sleepy mom to their last bedtime kiss. From the soft butch aesthetic of one of the tot's mothers to the family photos on the wall depicting a pride celebration, the illustrations are specific and detailed. Tickles at the farm stand and waving to the panda at the zoo from their bikes give way to a quiet evening, cozy towel cuddles, and several bedtime books in a routine that will resonate with parents of young children. Manushkin's text imitates the nonsensical patter of a parent to a toddler, observing the world around them. The third line, "There are plenty of fish in the sea" follows the instruction to "Look up!". One of the final lines reads "There's a glow for each firefly too, a jump for each cricket, a bounce on my knee, and us to make a family." The rhyme scheme is inconsistent from verse to verse, which may present a challenge for reading aloud. VERDICT Alizadeh's loving illustrations of an interracial, two-mom family will fill a gap in most collections and circulate well in collections serving bikeable urban neighborhoods.-Amanda Foulk, Sacramento Public Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 30, 2020
Two mothers and their toddler find joy in spending time together as this picture book’s text describes a world in which “The sun shines on everyone./ There are plenty of fish in the sea.” In Alizadeh’s digitally refined pencil illustrations, the affectionate family—the child grins throughout, one mom sports a tattoo and an undercut—snuggles in bed, bikes to a farmstand and a zoo, and heads back home before sharing a meal and moving into their bedtime routine. Manushkin’s hopeful lines emphasize both a feeling of abundance and a connection to the natural world: “There’s plenty of blue for bluebirds,/ and red for strawberries too.// There is grass for gazelles,// for each panda bamboo,// and plenty of noodles/ for me and you.” Cozy illustrations lend a classic sensibility to this incidentally inclusive bedtime tale for the youngest readers. Ages 2–5.

May 1, 2020
Preschool-K Manushkin, author of the Katie Woo books, takes readers through a day in the life of two mothers and their toddler. As the trio take a leisurely bike ride on a sunny day, they stop to marvel at things both great and small, from the sky and sea to worms and frogs, and there's plenty of time for tickling, peek-a-boo, and hugs in between. The text echoes the Bible's to every thing there is a season in both mood and meter, except here it's about a buzz for each bug, and a breeze for each tree. The family stops at the zoo, where everything has its place in a providential world. There's grass for gazelles, bamboo for pandas, and finally, back at home for dinnertime, yummy noodles for the family. The day ends with the traditional bedtime rituals of bath, storytime, and falling asleep. Children will delight in the feeling of wonder brought out by Alizadeh's cozy illustrations, and at the same time, be lulled by the hypnotic verse.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 1, 2020
A sweet portrait of parental love, notable for its depiction of a two-mom family. The text neither names nor defines the family relationships in this picture book, so Alizadeh's art takes the lead in depicting two women and their baby. One mother appears white, with light skin and short-cropped brown hair, while the other has long, dark, wavy hair and a slightly darker skin tone. Their child has coloring more like that of the latter mother and is clearly abundantly loved by both parents. The illustrations depict the family riding their bicycles to a farm and a zoo before heading home for dinner, a bath, and bedtime. The loose linework, gentle palette, and soft visual texture of the art is a perfect match for the lilting, easy cadence of the affirming text: "There's a buzz for each bug, / and a breeze for each tree, / and plenty of hugs for you and me." The speaker and addressee of this line and others are never defined, which underscores the clarity of Alizadeh's intention in depicting this particular queer family constellation. "You" could have been depicted as one person, after all, but this line is accompanied by a group hug shared by the child and two moms. Plenty of need for this warm hug of a book. (Picture book. 1-5)

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