Welcome back to rhyming week on my Youtube channel Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte. And today I have a book that captures all the happiness and excitement of bringing a new baby home. Every person in the house, Mom and Dad, brothers, sisters Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, neighbors and friends welcomes the new baby in their own way. The book is Welcome Home by Aimee Reid and Illustrated by Rashin Kyeiriyeh
The text rhymes and has exactly the type of rhythm and repetition that babies and toddlers love. Aimee Reid is a former teacher, now writer of children’s books based in Hamilton Ontario Canada just an hour our so away from where I live. As a teacher of English, special education and music, Aimee knows how children learn language, the importance of repetitive sounds, and words. The way each person welcomes the baby home is so heartwarming and happy.
This is a terrific book to be read to babies. I especially see a great use for this book if the new baby is brought to a household where other children are also present. It is perfect to sit down with this book and all the children and read it to them. If there is a 7 or 8 year old in the household they could read this to the baby and that will help both of them bond. And Yes, babies should be read to everyday and often. Babies need to hear your voice, words and language to help develop their minds and the eventual skills they need for speaking.
Now, a few words about the illustrations of Rashin Kkeiriyeh, who has a doctorate in book illustration and has illustrated over 80 books. What a team! Rashin who teaches at the University of Maryland and lives in Washington DC, has washed the pages of this book with color and movement, detail and pattern, and most of all faces. It is the faces that will attract baby’s attention when you are reading this book to your baby. I particularly loved the diversity of persons shown in this book, large and small, and all the colors that humans come in. The colors used are soft but not washed out, bold but not hard on little eyes. This is a great book for newborns to ages 8 and can be easily read by the older kids to the younger.
Welcome Home was published by BeachLane Books by Simon and Schuster. It is available from them and from Amazon and wherever softhearted books are sold. And while you are here, please subscribe to my Youtube channel Great Books for Kids Reviewed by Michelle Marcotte and click the notification bell. Thank you.