Read, Read, Read, said the Baby: Mama Tiger, Tiger Cub by Steve Light

Steve Light has done some very interesting things, artistically speaking, and one of the things I find unique is the wide variety in his board book offerings. This title is closest in style to Black Bird Yellow Sun but is much more playful.

The first spread shows the long, cat-like Mama Tiger stretching against a blue sky and puffy clouds. The tail of her little tiger is just barely visible on the edge of the book. As the pages turn, Mama Tiger seems to be searching for something. She splashes through a river, tries to catch a vivid red fish, takes a nap in a tree (keen-eyed readers will spot someone else peeking over a limb of the tree), watches a bird, sniffs the flowers, and finally gives a loud roar, a zigzag of thick, dark purple. A pair of ears peeks over the splotchy purple hill and the last spread reunites Mama Tiger and Tiger Cub, curled up together and sleeping in the purple night.

The backgrounds of the pages show thick, textured paint, the kind of image you'd get from sponge painting. Across these splashy swathes of color, Mama cat, slim, striped with black pen marks, cavorts and wiggles, looks worried and frustrated, and finally peaceful as she settles in with her cub.

Verdict: The simple text is perfect for babies and the bold, colorful pictures make these an easy choice for storytime and bedtime reading.

ISBN: 9781536206777; Published May 2019 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium