When Baby Bird says good-bye to his mama at school each morning, he feels sad. Mama Bird feels sad, too. Sometimes it's hard to be apart. But as Mama Bird says, the love they share is with them always, keeping them close until the best part of the day--when they are together again. #8226;From the illustrator of the bestselling Time for Bed, with more than 725,000 copies sold #8226;A heartwarming story about the universal experience of parents and children being temporarily separated Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

As comforting as morning sun, this sweet, tenderly illustrated rhyming poem will reassure both preschoolers and their working parents that separation is only temporary. When a baby bird's mother hugs him before dropping him off at school, she reminds him that "even when I'm far away,/ this love I have will stay/ and wrap itself around you/ every minute of the day." Though Appelt's (Someone's Come to Our House) text has the occasional ring of a greeting card, her rhythmic, four-line stanzas are filled with simple images that preschoolers will understand: the mother bird says her love "nestles in your pocket/ and makes itself so small/ that when you're busy playing,/ you won't notice it at all." In the satisfying ending, the mother bird says that of all her activities, "the sweetest thing I do/ is sweep you up and hold you tight/ and come back home to you." As in her When Mama Comes Home Tonight, Dyer's radiant watercolors, this time of anthropomorphized animals, combine old-fashioned trappings with modern manners. The mother bird wears granny shoes and a straw hat decorated with cherries, but she also carries a briefcase and drinks coffee at a business lunch. Each picture, whether a full-bleed double-spread or a vignette, is filled with bright colors and patterns that are quaintly comforting. Given its timely theme and classic delivery, this could be a popular favorite. Ages 2-5. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

PreS-An exploration of the love that exists between mother and child, even when Mama Bird must leave her baby at nursery school. Told in rhyming verse, each four-line stanza is a reassurance that Mama's love will permeate all areas of Baby Bird's day, from playtime to lunch to nap. Her love is described as settling on baby's shoulder, in a pocket, on a lap. Then the tables turn and this love is now alongside Mama at work, inside her desk, inside a shoe, until the final moment when she returns for her little one. While the sentiments expressed are lovely, the book is repetitive. By the time the pages turn to the mother, readers will be looking for more action and less abstract talk. What will carry this book into the hearts of children are the soft, watercolor illustrations. Each scene is vivid and fresh and full of a love and warmth that's palpable. This world is comprised of fully clothed adult and toddler animals, anthropomorphized so perfectly as to be 100% believable. The oversized, close-up views of a toddler duck, lamb, bunny, and pig, to name a few, lend an immediacy that's inviting and pure. Representative hearts abound in the drawings so that readers see a chalk heart on the blackboard seemingly resting on the baby bird's shoulder or the steam from Mama's coffee cup wafting upward in the shape of a heart.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Ages 3-5. Baby bird is off to school, and his mother is experiencing separation anxiety, which she describes quite lyrically. "Oh, my baby, little one, / the hardest thing I do / is hold you tight, then let you go, / and walk away from you." Mama goes on to explain how her love surrounds the child all day, sitting on his shoulder, nestling in his pocket, and conversely, how she carries his love with her. The text is lovely, but Mama's perspective is adult, the sentiment almost overwrought at times. This problem is mitigated by Dyer's wonderful pictures that bring the emotion to a level that children can understand. Using watercolors as her medium, Dyer offers a whimsical world where sweetly garbed animal children play at nursery school while Mama is at work or dining out. The light, bright pictures will charm young listeners, who will find this book best enjoyed while cuddled up next to Mama. (Reviewed March 1, 2000)0152000410Ilene Cooper From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.