You're Strong with Me

Description

Age range 4 to 8 The rain clouds are long gone and the dry season scorches the land. Everything is new for the baby giraffe. As she bounds ahead and lags behind, her mother patiently explains the ways of the grasslands. And until she grows a little taller, older, and wiser, her mother reminds her: 'You're strong with me.' From the makers of You're Safe With Me and the Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year You're Snug With Me.

Chitra Soundar is an Indian-born British author and storyteller. She has published more than 30 books and is inspired by the rich heritage of epics and folktales from India as well as India's natural beauty. Poonam Mistry is a UK-based freelance illustrator with a degree in graphic design and illustration. Her work is heavily influenced by nature, folklore, and traditional Indian art. Poonam was short-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2019.

A mother giraffe gently instructs her child in the proper techniques for adapting to her grassland environment.She teaches the baby giraffe to become aware of other animals, both friends and foes, and how to drink from a creek. She tells her baby about fire, both its dangers and its positive qualities. The baby giraffe complains when an oxpecker (a bird that often has a symbiotic relationship with giraffes) lands on her back, saying 'But it hurts!' The mother soothingly answers: 'As you grow older, your coat will get thicker and this will be just a tickle. Until then, you're strong with me.' This phrase serves as a refrain throughout the book, just as similar comforting phrases were woven into the partnering author and illustrator's previous books You're Safe With Me and You're Snug With Me (both 2018). Soundar and Mistry create an entirely original work here, shifting to a different world region and finding just enough danger and new experiences for a baby animal to encounter, with a mother always nearby to make sure her little one carefully learns what she needs to in order to feel secure as she grows up. Many shades of brown and gold evoke the hot African grasslands where these giraffes roam. The highly stylized illustrations are spectacular, full of repeating triangle and diamond shapes that are reminiscent of African textiles from various countries. A book to excite children about animal life and reassure them of the lasting love from elders.--Kirkus Reviews -- "Journal" (6/18/2019 12:00:00 AM)