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Children's Fiction, Family
How You Got So Smart by David Milgrim β€” book cover

How You Got So Smart

by David Milgrim
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Synopsis

Every stage in growing up has its own fun and challenges, and the adorable star of this book faces each one with gusto. As a baby, there's the taste-everything phase—whether it is meant to be eaten—or not! And as a toddler, there's the question-everything phase. But all the while baby is growing up and becoming a curious kid whose exploration of the world leads to amazing places and discoveries. He's come so far and learned so much, and now everyone is so proud of him!

This celebration of curiosity and creativity, with its funny, joyful illustrations full of kid-friendly details, is a great gift for any major milestone.

Publishers Weekly

Milgrim's (Best Baby Ever) breezy yet tender celebration of childhood achievements opens with a nod to its gift-book potential: a diploma proclaims, “You've made us all proud/ By who you've become,/ And we'd like to review/ How you did what you've done.” The focus on the hows rather than the whats of accomplishments broadens the book's relevance. While the lilting verse supplies general observations (“You wandered and wondered./ You loved to explore./ For every answer you got,/ you had three questions more”), buoyant, digital cartoons—supplemented by lighthearted speech balloons—furnish examples. Accompanying a shoutout for trying new things is a picture of the cheerful boy being served a squidlike creature as his mother insists, “It tastes like chicken!” In an endearing scenario, he goes fishing with his grandfather (“You had many teachers./ You learned from them well”), and when things aren't going so well, he takes out his aggressions on an inflatable toy. Amusing recurring graphics include frosted doughnuts—a favorite of the family dog—and a colander that serves as a helmet. It's an uplifting look at the dividends childhood curiosity can pay. Ages 1-up. (May)

About the Author, David Milgrim

David Milgrim is the author and illustrator of numerous picture books, including Best Baby Ever, Santa Duck, Amelia Makes a Movie and Another Day in the Milky Way. He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts.

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Book Details

Published
April 1, 2010
Publisher
Penguin Group (USA)
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780399252600

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