You and Me, Me and You by Miguel Tanco

You and Me, Me and You by Miguel Tanco is the kind of picture book that is really hard to do well, and Tanco does it very well. I have extremely high standards for picture books about the special bond parents and children share and a very low tolerance for sentimentality, of which there is none in Tanco's book. Also, it's just plain challenging to capture the similar but different ways that a parent loves a child and a child loves a parent. With You and Me, Me and You, Tanco marvelously, magically does this, perhaps by having the child narrate with the perspective and wisdom of an adult. The pictures tell one story, the words another, and in this I think that both children and adults will "get" and love You and Me, Me and You.

I ask you the most difficult questions . . .

and keep you in shape.

I show you how to talk to strangers . . .

and how to slow down.

I take you to places you've never seen . . .

and get wet with you in the rain.

Each page features half of a sentence, simply, beautifully capturing the gifts children give us, sometimes whether we want them or not, Tanco's illustrations funny, fluid and full of expression. You and Me, Me and You is definitely a book to be given as a gift, from a parent to a child, a child to a parent or anyone who is embarking on the journey of parenthood. The small trim size makes it easy to carry with you and keep close to your heart, especially when your children, like mine, grow up and travel far away.

Source: Review Copy