"Aunt Athena is expecting a baby boy."

Each family member has a different answer to her question. While she's waiting for what seems like forever. Iris thinks about all the exciting things she and her new cousin will someday do together. And given Iris's vibrant imagination, there's no telling what to expect. Kimberly Willis Holt and Gabi Swiatkowska offer a thoughtful take on some myths surrounding a baby's arrival. Lovely prose and spectacular paintings capture one little girl's anticipation and joy of her cousin's arrival into the world.

Inspirations

 A lot of things happen when you wait for a baby. Even in the hospital waiting room. While my daughter and I waited for my nephew's birth so many interesting moments happened. On the way home I decided to write about those moments and put them into a small album called Waiting for Gregory:Snapshots. It was a gift for my sister and brother-in-law, but later it inspired a terrible first draft of a picture book. Nine years and many drafts later, the result was my first published picture book.

Reviews

"The mix of the everyday and the magical from the child's viewpoint captures the longing, mystery, and joy."  -Booklist

"Holt's affectionate story of awaiting a new baby touches on the many myths associated with this joyous event." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"It's obvious that Holt carries with her a deft hand at capturing the voices of children of every age. In this book, Iris's anticipation is keenly felt. You even come to believe that she would actually have grown and changed enough by the end to await Gregory's further growth with a kind of child-like acceptance. No small feat in a book of only twenty-nine pages. -"E.R. Bird "Ramseelbird", AMAZON TOP 100 REVIEWER

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