PPBF: Edgar's Second Word

Today's Perfect Picture Book Friday pick

Edgar's Second Word, by Audrey Vernick and Priscilla Burris

Edgar's Second Word

Written Audrey Vernick
Illustrated by Priscilla Burris

Clarion Books, 2014
Ages 4-7


Themes:
Siblings


Opening:
  The books Hazel planned to read to her someday-brother waited on a special shelf.
Every night, she imagined the warm-love weight of him on her lap, and how they'd study each page together.
She read to her bunny, Rodrigo, but it wasn't the same.


Synopsis:
Hazel is excited about the arrival of her new baby brother, but Edgar is not quite what she was expecting. Although he isn't much different than a watermelon, Hazel sits with him and reads to him, awaiting his first word. When Edgar persists in saying his first word as often and as loudly as possible, Hazel tries a variety of tactics to teach her little brother some new vocabulary. In the end, Edgar chooses his own words, and they are music to Hazel's ears.


What I Love:
Audrey Vernick has proven she knows picture books. The story is sweet without being sentimental. The characters are authentic. The story itself flows beautifully through the page turns and ends with an unexpected yet inevitable conclusion. It even includes that extra little ending-after-the-ending.

Her language is superlative. She isn't afraid of words like "conviction" or "desperate" and when the perfect word doesn't exist, Vernick makes her own. She captures the realities of babyhood. Edgar experiences "tired-baby gravity" at bedtime when he becomes "as weighty as two Edgars." Edgar acts like a real baby. And her humor is kid-friendly, read-aloud gold:

Edgar didn't speak.

Mostly, he pointed.

And grunted. 

Like a pointing, grunting watermelon. 


Bonus: 

Specialized sibling tees available
from Purple Aspen Kids on Etsy

1. Kids Health lists some great ways to prepare your child for a new baby in the house.

2. Web MD has posted milestones for infant speech development.

3. Try teaching your baby a second language as well as a first. Basic signs and tips can be found on Baby Sign Language, a language I think all Americans should know. If you're hesitant, Baby Center has posted 5 myths about raising bilingual children.

4. Audrey Vernick offers 7 tips for writers in an interview on The Written Word.

5. Sketchables posted a creative Sketch Interview with illustrator Priscilla Burris.

6. Moments A Day suggests parents host a New Sibling Party to help older kids adjust and to make memorable moments. Include terrific sibling-themed books like Too Busy Sleeping, The Swap, or There's Going to Be A Baby.

7. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.


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Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!

Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for Friday, January 13, 2017, available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.