You and Me, Me and You

September 1, 2018
A playful ode to brotherly love.Spare text, befitting the simple, accompanying line drawings of two brothers, describes the boys' relationship and its contradiction-laden companionability. "A brother is someone you run with..." reads the first spread, which shows an illustration of the brothers racing to an ice cream truck. A page turn reveals the opposing line after the ellipses--"and run from" as the littler brother high-tails it to the door while the elder one scowls at a broken toy on the facing page. These opposing scenes are representative of the ensuing spreads that depict the low-stakes ups and downs of brotherhood at home, on the playground, alone together, and with friends. The boys' caregivers are never depicted in text but appear in the backgrounds of several spreads, as does the family dog. Their visual characterizations are just one way that the energetic, expressive illustrations expand upon the text to give readers a full, satisfying understanding of the boys and their safe, playful world. The boys are paper-white, but other children depicted in group spreads display some racial diversity.Sure to resonate with those lucky enough to share such a bond and to give others a peek into a familial ideal. (Picture book. 3-8)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2019
This delightful follow-up to You and Me, Me and You (in which a child described "teaching" an adult caregiver how to do things) features a similarly spare text defining brotherly (or all-sibling) love: e.g., "A brother shares friends... / and secret hideouts." Tanco's fastidious line art, this time accented with tangerine, shows two brothers at (mostly harmonious) play.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

April 24, 2017
In a pensive reflection on father-son communication, a boy contemplates his effect on his father. “I ask you the most difficult questions,” says the child as the two pass a stray dog. At bedtime, the child offers his father “the chance to tell stories,” and when they’re navigating a thorny traffic situation on a bike, the boy reminds his elder to “choose words with care.” Tanco captures each scene in minimalistic pen-and-ink artwork accented with yellow, and the father and child’s meaningful interactions delicately suggest that, in parenting, listening and learning go both ways. Ages 3–5. Agent: Debbie Bibo.