Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born

From Publishers Weekly
Actress Curtis's return engagement amply confirms the promise shown in her debut picture book (When I Was Little). A sweet and sunny look at adoption, the story is framed as a much-loved and clearly much-requested family tale, and rings true from beginning to end. Combining wit ("Tell me again how you carried me like a china doll all the way home and how you glared at anyone who sneezed") with candor ("Tell me again how you couldn't grow a baby in your tummy, so another woman who was too young to take care of me was growing me"), Curtis deftly addresses the logistics of adoption in a matter-of-fact manner that radiates love and reassurance. Cornell, who also illustrated Curtis's previous books, again serves up whimsical, Roz Chast-like watercolors crammed with amusing visual asides: a jar of diaper cream sports the label "Tub o' Lard"; a tiny bandage on a newborn's tummy carries the notice "future bellybutton"; a little girl and her dog, tucked cozily into bed, wear matching curlers (the girl's in her hair; the pup's on his ears). It's hard to imagine a warmer celebration of the special joys of an adopted family. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?While Curtis's fame as an actor may get this adoption story special attention, it deserves recognition in its own right. If the title suggests a blow-by-blow description of the birth process, readers are quickly set straight; the news arrives by telephone. The narrator's adoptive parents rush to the hospital via plane, and any questions about the identity of the birth mother are brushed aside; she is simply "too young" to take care of her child. The new parents see their daughter in the nursery, howling wide-mouthed and oblivious to their pleased and loving gazes. Both participate equally in this tale; the first night home with the baby, the father tells her about baseball, holding her and a bat cradled in his arms. The humor implicit in the text is made explicit in the illustrations: watery, cartoonstyle watercolors with fine-pen accents to show outlines and facial features. This book exudes action and light; nothing here will lull children to sleep, except the warmth of feeling and comfort. It does not delve into the complexity of adoptive dynamics, but simply affirms family love, the pleasure parents feel about new babies, and how pleased children are to hear the story of their birth.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MACopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Ages 3^-6. "Tell me again about the night I was born," begs a little girl, who then joyously proceeds to supply all the details herself: how the phone rang in the middle of the night; how her parents got on an airplane and traveled to the hospital, where they would pick up the baby they would adopt; how they cradled her and called her "baby sweet." Curtis' use of an ingenuous childlike narrator is just as successful here as it was in When I Was Little (1993), and so are Cornell's comical, exuberant illustrations, which have great child appeal. The double-page foldout, "New Baby (actual size)," is a riot. The "tell me again about" device eventually grows a bit tiresome, and Curtis leads children slightly astray by alluding to a baby "in your tummy," but that's more than balanced by the happiness and honest affection imbuing every page. Although this will be a good lead-in to Betty Lifton's more pointed Tell Me a Real Adoption Story (1994), it is a story any child, adopted or not, will enjoy. Stephanie Zvirin


From Kirkus Reviews
Everyone--including adoptive parents and children longing for validation of their unique experiences--will embrace this pitch- perfect celebration of true family values. ``Tell me again'' is the endearing catchphrase a young girl employs to get her parents to recount the creation of their family: the late-night phone call (``Tell me again how you screamed''), a plane ride (``and how there was no movie, only peanuts''), the trip to the hospital (``you both got very quiet and felt very small''), love at first sight in the nursery (``you couldn't believe something so small could make you smile so big''). ``Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms and called me your baby sweet. Tell me again how you cried happy tears.'' It's all here, including a childlike family tree and a funny spread showing a ``New Baby (actual size).'' In those scenes and others, Cornell's quirky watercolors enhance the book's tone and expand on its humor, effectively alternating between highly comic scenes and quieter, more loving ones. (Picture book. 2-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Tell me again about the night I was born.Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents.

FROM OUR EDITORS

A young girl asks her parents to repeat the cherished tale she knows so well about her birth and adoption. Told from the child's point of view, the story and pictures are full of fun details. On the plane down to get her, "there was no movie, only peanuts." When carrying her home, her parents "glared at anyone who sneezed." Under the silliness in both the text and illustrations, there lies a strong message of the parents' love for this new baby girl.

ANNOTATION

A young girl asks her parents to tell her again the cherished family story of her birth and adoption.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Tell me again about the night I was born . . Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents... Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms . .

In asking her mother and father to tell her again about the night of her birth, a young girl shows that it is a cherished tale she knows by heart.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell come together once again to create a unique celebration of the love and joy a baby brings into the world. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is a heartwarming story, not only of how one child is born but of how a family is born.

About the AuthorJamie Lee Curtis is a critically-acclaimed and best-selling author. Her most recent book, Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day enjoyed an extraordinary nine weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. It has sold over 750,000 copies to date. Other best-selling titles include Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born And When I Was Little: A Four-Year Old’s Memoir Of Her Youth. All of Curtis’ picture books have been illustrated by the acclaimed artist, Laura Cornell. Her fourth book, Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery will be published in September 2000.

Curtis has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress with starring roles in such acclaimed films as the blockbuster True Lies opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award, and Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd for which she earned a British Film Academy award for Best Supporting Actress. Most recently Jamie starred in Halloween: H2O, which was the 20 year sequel toHalloween, —the now classic film which first brought her to the attention of audiences worldwide. Other memorable leading film role performances include A Fish Called Wanda, Fierce Creatures, Virus, Dominick And Eugene, Blue Steel, My Girl, My Girl Ii, Forever Young, Mother’s Boys, House Arrest and Love Letters.

In television, Curtis co-starred opposite Richard Lewis in the acclaimed sitcom Anything But Love which earned her both a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award, as well as TNT’s adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles which also earned her a Golden Globe nomination. More recently, Jamie starred in the CBS telefilm Nicholas’ Gift for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Curtis began her Hollywood career in 1977 when she signed on as a contract player with Universal Studios. She was a regular on the television series Operation Petticoat when she was cast in Halloween. That role lead to subsequent roles in Prom Night, Terror Train and The Fog.

Jamie Lee Curtis is the mother of Annie and Thomas. She has been married for 16 years to actor/director Christopher Guest.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2While Curtis's fame as an actor may get this adoption story special attention, it deserves recognition in its own right. If the title suggests a blow-by-blow description of the birth process, readers are quickly set straight; the news arrives by telephone. The narrator's adoptive parents rush to the hospital via plane, and any questions about the identity of the birth mother are brushed aside; she is simply "too young" to take care of her child. The new parents see their daughter in the nursery, howling wide-mouthed and oblivious to their pleased and loving gazes. Both participate equally in this tale; the first night home with the baby, the father tells her about baseball, holding her and a bat cradled in his arms. The humor implicit in the text is made explicit in the illustrations: watery, cartoonstyle watercolors with fine-pen accents to show outlines and facial features. This book exudes action and light; nothing here will lull children to sleep, except the warmth of feeling and comfort. It does not delve into the complexity of adoptive dynamics, but simply affirms family love, the pleasure parents feel about new babies, and how pleased children are to hear the story of their birth.Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA

Kirkus Reviews

Everyone—including adoptive parents and children longing for validation of their unique experiences—will embrace this pitch- perfect celebration of true family values.

"Tell me again" is the endearing catchphrase a young girl employs to get her parents to recount the creation of their family: the late-night phone call ("Tell me again how you screamed"), a plane ride ("and how there was no movie, only peanuts"), the trip to the hospital ("you both got very quiet and felt very small"), love at first sight in the nursery ("you couldn't believe something so small could make you smile so big"). "Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms and called me your baby sweet. Tell me again how you cried happy tears." It's all here, including a childlike family tree and a funny spread showing a "New Baby (actual size)." In those scenes and others, Cornell's quirky watercolors enhance the book's tone and expand on its humor, effectively alternating between highly comic scenes and quieter, more loving ones.