Soon, Your Hands

January 1, 2023
As children grow, they learn to use their hands to manipulate and create while their minds grasp ever more complex ideas. A parent speaks directly to a child, telling them how their small hands fit perfectly in the larger adult hands." But soon, your hands will grow. And learn." The child will be able to do things that are practical, messy, bold, and creative and find splendid new experiences in the wider world. Then the parent can let go. But, for now, those small hands still need the strength and encouragement of a loving parent. Stutzman's poetic text is a sweet, warm, somewhat abstract testament to parents' protective love, enhanced by Lilly's loose, quirky pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations, which provide needed, concrete expressions of the theme. They depict three diverse families, neighbors in three attached row houses. Two Black adults, of different skin tones, head one family with a Black child. A brown-skinned couple parent a child who wears hearing aids; the family is cued as Latine. A light-skinned working parent and older adult (perhaps a grandparent) care for a light-skinned child. A page of framed, labeled photos of the children as adults appears toward the end--the narrator's hopeful predictions for their futures. Sharp-eyed readers will notice carefully crafted details in the vignettes that depict each family's unique qualities and what they share--namely, their love and closeness. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Beautifully tender and thoughtful. (American Sign Language glossary) (Picture book. 4-9)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from January 9, 2023
“Tonight,” writes Stutzman (The Mouse Who Carried a House on His Back), channeling three sets of caregivers’ monologues, “I hold your hands,/ so small/ they fit inside my own.// But soon,// your hands will grow./ And learn.” In loose-lined watercolor and ink art by Lilly (The Catalogue of Hugs), three families are shown living side by side in a block of palm-shaded, brightly colored row houses. In one, a family portrayed with brown skin prepares for a birthday party. Next door, a brown-skinned child who wears hearing aids and uses sign language takes a trip to the beach. And in the semidetached home on the end, a pale-skinned child spends days with an older adult—perhaps a grandparent—while a younger adult works a night shift. Each family cherishes the child in their midst, savoring moments of closeness, encouraging independence, and dreaming of the fully realized adults their offspring will become. Building on anticipatory text, empathic art chronicles the children’s respective forays into autonomy: decorating a parent’s birthday cake, braving the expansiveness of the ocean, and adopting a stray kitten while working at a community garden. By book’s end, readers will be invested in each of these families across time—and perhaps wish to be their neighbors, too. An ASL glossary concludes. Ages 3–5. Agent (for author and illustrator): Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin
Properties.

Starred review from February 1, 2023
Preschool-Grade 2 *Starred Review* Three stories weave together into an affectionate celebration of familial love and the possibilities of nurtured youth. "Tonight I hold your hands, so small they fit inside my own," a narrator reflects, as readers are offered a glimpse inside the first of three neighboring townhomes. With tender simplicity, through minimal text and exceptional illustrative interpretation, we spend time with three families, each with a young child, and witness how simple events like wading at the beach or sharing a homegrown tomato can convey extraordinary love. Time passes, and, though the neighbors' lives overlap, the focus remains on the caregivers' adoration of their children. "Soon, your hands . . . will tell stories only you know how to tell. And they will grow." Stutzman (Bear is a Bear, 2021) crafts another gentle read-aloud seemingly designed for bedtime sharing. Lilly (Let Me Fix You a Plate, 2021) enhances the spare yet affirming text with bright illustrations in nib pen, ink, and watercolor washes. Her detailed and inclusive drawings are warm and expressive and delightfully capture the individuality and diversity of each family without sacrificing continuity of the story line. One child, Reyna, is deaf and speaks American Sign Language (ASL) with her family; an ASL glossary is included. A gorgeous rendering of how everyday moments can convey a lifetime of wonder and security.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 17, 2023

PreS-K-Within a vibrant community of loving families are children who, while small for now, will soon use their hands to achieve great things. Much like Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go!, this book is both a heartfelt promise and a love letter from caregivers to their children. Three families are featured, and while each one only includes one child, the skin colors, family makeup, and daily activities differ. Two male parents, one girl with hearing aids, and one intergenerational family enhance the diversity of the story through their representation of various family types. Illustrations created with pen and watercolor use a plethora of color to amplify the uniqueness found in each person while depicting how those qualities can build a rainbow of connection. Very little text is used, which can make it accessible to younger readers, though the overall subtlety of the narrative is best suited to those with the patience to decipher it. A lovely addition to the story is the use of American Sign Language in several of the images, as well as a glossary at the end describing the signs and how to replicate them. There is already great detail to investigate in the illustrations, and the use of ASL provides a dynamic and memorable layer to share with young children. VERDICT This heartwarming book is best suited to a lap read with a patient child and a loving caregiver.-Mary R. Lanni

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.