Now I Am Bigger

Sherryl Clark (author)

Nina Rycroft (illustrator)

Working Title Press, Australia: 2010

ISBN: 9781921504174

Genres: picture book, realistic fiction

Issues: growing up

'When I was born/they held me up/counted fingers and toes.' Thus begins this charming journey through the eyes of a child. Everything is new and exciting and to be explored; every change is significant; life is an intense experience.

As much for the reader as the listener, Now I Am Bigger is a reminder to all of us to hang onto our child's heart – that sense of wonder and love that makes the world such a remarkable place.

 A poet who writes novels as well as picture books, Clark said of writing this book: When you're very little, time doesn't mean anything. What is an hour? A day? Are we there yet? Time is measured in growing, and in accomplishing new things like walking and growing teeth and eating by yourself, and most exciting of all, discovering the power of words and learning to talk. So much of little kids' lives is about is now.

An experienced illustrator, Nina Rycroft has used gentle pencil and watercolour drawings to capture that excitement. Multiple drawings on the one page reinforce the idea that every moment is new, each one a learning experience. Parents, particularly, will smile lovingly at each small change, reminders of who carefully they watch their own little ones develop.