Module 1: Introduction to Children's Literature

You Were Loved Before You Were Born by Eve Bunting, Karen Barbour (illustrator)

Bunting, E. (2008). You were loved before you were born. New York: Blue Sky Press.

Summary

This book focuses on the excitement and preparation that precedes the birth of a new baby. The perspective of several family members such as grandparents, aunts and parents is touched upon. The author discusses how the family gets ready for the baby and the gifts they have purchased, emphasizing that this process reflects the love the family felt for the baby before he/she was even born.

My Thoughts

I was not impressed by this book. While it touches on something that all families experience with the birth of a new baby it was not presented in a manner that would appeal to a child. It would certainly speak to a mother because it it something she understands so well, but for a child this book is a bit obscure. I felt that the message was too obvious and over emphasized. I think this idea is a good one, the unconditional love that a family feels for a child, but it could have been presented in a less forced way that would have spoken to a child better. This is a definite example of a book that an adult loves, but is a less than exemplary children's book. Honestly, I don't think I would do anything special with this book in a library setting, maybe to help kids welcome a new baby and adjust to that kind of change.

Review

A mother voices a familiar message to her new arrival: that relatives and neighbors had expressed their love for the baby in a variety of ways before the birth. Grandmother planted a rosebush, grandfather brought a rocking chair, an aunt painted a mural in the nursery. In Barbour's stylized scenes, flowers, trees, and houses are depicted as bold shapes upon which a multitude of patterns have been painted. The decorative designs contrast with the background expanses of warm color in which dry brushstrokes provide texture. While the unspecified gender and Barbour's choice not to alter the mother's body during pregnancy make this story adaptable to a variety of situations, including adoption, it is questionable whether youngsters will really appreciate this title. The Cubist faces come across as rather stern, and the figures are static. The story lacks the humor of Robert Munsch's Love You Forever (Firefly, 1995), the tension and cultural interest of Barbara M. Joosse's Mama, Do You Love Me? (Chronicle, 1991), and the emotional range in Patricia McMahon and Conor Clarke McCarthy's Just Add One Chinese Sister (Boyds Mills, 2005). This title's greatest appeal may be to parents and grandparents. Lukehart, W. School Library Journal, January 2008