Big Little Girl
Things have changed a lot for BookBairn over the last few weeks and the arrival of The Wee Page Turner is just one of them. She has had a growth spurt and her little legs now fit into her age size of leggings and trouser. Her speech has changed making her sound much more grown up: her sentence structure is far more complex as well as her increasing vocabulary including multi-syllable words like diplodocus, supermarket and screwdriver amongst many other new additions. She had started to play more imaginatively as well as more independently with her Peppa characters and Sylvanian families. And for the first time I watched her play with her best friend not just playing alongside her: they held hands as BookBairn showed the rainbows refracting on our kitchen wall, they jumped around like frogs following each other, they both fed their dollies milk together and of course BookBairn wanted every toy her friend had first!
It seems that my baby girl has grown up in more ways than simply becoming a big sister. But becoming a big sister has extra responsibilities too!
We recently took part in the Let's Talk Picture Books Exchange on Instagram and were delighted to get some books about becoming a big sister. Whilst I read these at the time, they honestly didn't mean an awful lot to BookBairn and I popped them aside until after her brother was born. And when I got one of them back out, there was a little bit of magic inside that book.
'Little Big Girl' by Claire Keane tells the story of a little girl, Matisse, who is very little in such a big world: she brushes her little teeth, puts on her little shoes and climbs into her little car seat going on big adventures across her big city! Sometimes she even needs a big nap after all her adventures (lucky for Matisse's Mummy, huh?). And then her little brother comes along and the little girl is suddenly not so little anymore. She is the big girl. He has the little fingers and the little toes and he yawns little yawns.
Reading this one for the first time after The Wee Page Turner was born I cried. It moved me. The girl in the story was my little girl who now seemed so big. It captured moments I want for my two children: playing together, reading together, going on adventures together.
The illustrations in this book differ greatly from the sorts of illustrations I usually appreciate in picture books. Instead of the bright and bold colours I normally praise, this book has a soft pastel coloured watercolour finish. With a colour palette limited to pale yellows pinks, turquoises and orange, Claire has created gentle illustrations which perfectly match the feel of her story. The children are playful and sweet and look a lot like my two (though both my little ones have brown hair rather than blonde) and some of the images match our life beautifully.
BookBairn enjoyed curling up on my lap whilst her brother slept on Daddy's shoulder (thank goodness for Daddy's shoulders - I don't know where I'd be without them) and we read this one over and over together. She liked spotting the things from her life in the illustrations: the "aquarium" (yeah, she added that to her vocabulary too), the little white mini just like her "grandma's car",
It's hard to explain in a review how much a book can touch your heart. This one came along at the exact right moment to touch mine. For any little girls who have become big girls this book really is a must have. Beautiful, moving and inspiring. My little big girl is learning to be a big sister and with role models like Matisse as well as her friend that I mentioned at the start of the post I know she will be fine.
Happy reading big little girls,
She's still my wee BookBairn but she is growing up quickly. Enjoy every moment. "Little Big Girl" sounds like a magnificent book. It certainly gets a fantastic review in this blog. The Wee Page Turner will adore his big sister and follow her everywhere.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely book! And yes I can't wait to see them play together. Follow the leader could well be a popular choice!
DeleteI lov d this book - it was a fabulous book to read with BookBairn and so helpful for preparing for life's transitions.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely story about sibling love! And growing up!
DeleteThat sounds like such a sweet little book! I'm a sucker for gorgeous illustrations too. #KLTR
ReplyDeleteIllustrations totally make or break a book for me!
DeleteWish I'd had this book when my kids were younger, very sweet indeed ps loving the top #readwithme
ReplyDeleteAww thank you! It was a gift from her Aunty! And yes such a lovely book x
DeleteAwww this books sounds wonderful. I would have been emotional as well!
ReplyDeleteI get so easily moved by picture books and sharing them with my girl!
DeleteHow beautiful! I'm sure both my boys grew up almost overnight when they became big brothers. It's hard being 'big' when you're only 2, but it sounds like this book has captured it perfectly for all of you.
ReplyDeleteIt's scary how much they change and how quickly!
DeleteThis looks such a fabulous book. It's funny you mention Bookbairn's speech developing drastically, this happened to Izzie when Theo was born, it seemed like it was almost overnight! What a perfect book for being a big sister! #readwithme
ReplyDeleteAnd of course she speaks on behalf of her little brother!
DeleteThat is such an adorable cover. Now Book Bairn is bigger you can really extend her reading and introduce her to different illustration styles :o)
ReplyDelete#ReadWithMe
Yes! We have lots of fun books ahead of us!
DeleteIt's so lovely when picture books can support such important moments in your life. This book looks so beautiful, I'm not surprised it touched your heart so much! #readwithme #KLTR
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely brilliant when you find a book to mirror what's happening for little ones. Really supports them through!
DeleteI remember distinctly how big my oldest suddenly felt after his sister was born so I can really empathise with this. This sounds like a gorgeous book. Thanks for linking up to #kltr
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how they seem to grow up so much so quickly!
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