"More More More," Said the Baby Board Book: A Caldecott Honor Award Winner (Caldecott Collection)

I'm torn between what I think of the book and what my daughter thinks. She's 17 months old and wants to read this book daily. I, like other reviewers, found the text a bit awkward at first. Now that I've read it aloud about a million times and added my own twists and actions to accompany the story (kisses on the tummy, toes, eyes) I'm getting lulled into liking the book too. I LOVE that the white grandmother has a black grandbaby and that the daddy is a super dad and that there is an asian mother and daughter. The illustrations don't grab me because they have kind of a messy look, but they obviously grab my girl, because she just stares and stares at each page. So...take what you will from this review. For the amount of fun it's given us, despite my initial misgivings, I think it's worth a try. In fact, I'm buying it for a friend's baby for xmas.

This short book for preschoolers depicts three babys who are playing with, respectively, a father, a grandmother, and a mother. It is simply a story of the love of children. Interestingly, the second child is African-American but the grandmother appears not to be so. This is the first Caldecott book I've seen suggesting the existence of interracial families. If I'm correct, I readily applaud the author. But, even if I'm wrong, it is still a beautiful book of love. The book was a 1991 Caldecott Honor book (i.e., a runner up to the Medal winner) for best illustrations in a book for children.

I thought the book would have been more diverse, but to my surprise the second child has a grandmother with European features. What exactly is this book implying by not having a black grandparent who does not look like him?! It makes NO sense for the other two children to be with adults that look like them, and have a black child with a white adult. The whole team has failed and they did not think the illustrations through, so dissatisfied.

I am shocked that this book is a Caldecott Honor Book! It is THE most awful children's book I ever read and I am a teacher and have read plenty! The illustrations are terrible too.

The book is three stories in one: the first is about Little Guy. Little guy is so fast that "...his daddy has run like anything just to catch that baby up." What example of proper english is that? But then Little Guy's daddy "...catches that baby up all right....[and] brings that baby right up close." Little Guy is delighted with his daddy's antics and wants more, more, more.

Next we meet Little Pumpkin, an african-american baby with a caucasian grandma. I seriously think this is why the book is a Caldecott Honoree. However, this interracial family dynamic is not shocking or surprising and therefore not a unique depiction worthy of such an honor. Little Pumpkin scoots so fast that his grandma has to chase him just like Little Guy's daddy did. More poor grammar and then grandma "...catches that baby up." Again, baby wants more, more, more.

Last, we meet Little Bird, an asian baby. Little Bird falls asleep so fast that the mother has to "...catch that baby up" as he is falling off the couch onto the floor! This one is simply ridiculous! Then the author completely breaks the pattern from the first two stories and instead of saying "More, more, more" the baby says "Mmm. Mmmm. Mmmm" while falling asleep.

Overall, I am baffled as to why this is an honoree and why so many people gave it a positive review. It is simply awful! I am glad it was only $7.99 because I threw our copy out after our daughter slobbered all over it. At least it made a good teether.

I've had this book for years, but only just now started reading it to my baby.

Looking at the lush painted illustrations from a fresh perspective, I am amazed again at Williams' diversity of characters, as shown not just by the variety of ethnicities that other reviewers have mentioned, but economic and other types of diversity as well.

The daddy, for example, in Little Guy's love story, is white but wears shorts and thong sandals on his feet instead of the basic black daddy footwear of most books. Is he unemployed, having a day off, or perhaps a stay-at-home dad?

In Little Pumpkin's story, not only is the grandmother of this black baby rather white, she's also rather young - at least, young enough to still have blonde hair. And is she babysitting, or - like many grandmas these days - actually raising Little Pumpkin?

Finally, I love the illustrations that accompany the Little Bird story because as the baby sleeps, the mother is converting a sofa/daybed to a cozy sleeping place for the baby. Not every baby has her own bedroom, and not every family can afford a crib or toddler bed.

It amazes me every time I read the story that Little Bird is no less loved than a baby with a more elaborate nursery. These may seem like little things, but I believe even babies look for themselves in the stories we read to them. In More More More, my baby - who has no nursery of her own - will see the kind of unconditional love that transcends ethnic or economic stereotypes.

The tone of this book is soothing, though the lilting words and some phrases were a little odd for me at first ("little guy's father has to run so hard just to catch that baby up"). But through repetitions and simple, uncomplicated rhythms, this is a lovely going-to-bed book once you've got its cadences down pat.

This is a marvellous book for a wide range of ages... my sleepy 9-year-old daughter still loves to listen to it, along with her 4-month-old sister. Get this book and then "catch your baby up" to share it with her!

My kids loved this book. It was a favorite in our house when our two oldest were two and three years old.
The story is simple, but conveys a message of love and caring between parent and child that young children really relate to.
Having said that, the story is written in a style that reflects poor pronunciation and word usage ("dat" for "that"). I found myself having to substitute correct pronunciation and sentence structure for the actual words. Children at the age to whom the book is targeted may think the story as written reflects correct word usage -- they are very impressionable at two and three!
But for the writing style, I would have given it more stars.

I have a hard time understanding why this got any awards. The pictures are just okay. The grammar is poor. The story isn't that great.

Vera B. Williams is a genius at taping the wonderful world of a child and has written an excellent, gentle, and engaging book for first read-alongs. Our whole family adores this pass-along treasure, and my daughter now reads it to our little boy.

Like more and more Americans, we are a mixed race family, but we often have a hard time finding books that reflect our normalcy. Thank God we had this book for our children, which shows a white Grandmother with a black granddaughter, a white man and a white little boy, and an Asian Mommy with her little girl. For the longest time, mercifully, our children thought these were stories about the same family, since this world in miniature reflects their own in real life. Thanks you, Vera Williams.

The illustrations are a little hard to get used to, as they are mixed media and `lost wax' crayon, where surface colors are scratched away to reveal base colors below. My children and I instantly loved them, as they look like our own smeary results when we work on something together. Still, many unfamiliar with the technique would assume the art is unfinished or poor quality, but I assure you your children will love them.

The stories themselves are awkward if you are trying to read them as narrative, but you must carefully listen for the scansion, for Vera Williams has a wonderful ear for rhythm of a few simple words and the common skill of repetition that help children engage with words, and therefore their world.

The form of three is the dominant construct in this work. Three stories, three children, three adults, three relationships, and three repetitions of the actions, and three cries of "more, more, more."

This is an excellent first-words first-stories book, which will nonetheless always prove to be a memorable favorite for your older children. I cannot recommend it enough.

Very ugly illustrations, and the text sounds awful. Not possible to sing what the characters are supposedly singing, and wording doesn't seem to be that of a native English speaker. Names are a mouthful and do not flow.

We actually borrowed this book from the library prior to ordering it from Amazon. Our two year old loves the book! I can hear him as I type this saying "mo mo mo says the bebe." Great story to read to your children! Highly recommended!