Previously I read You're Strong With Me by the team of Soundor and Mistry this is yet another lovely, stunningly illustrated book by Poonman Mistry with beautiful rich text of Soundor.

This is a tale of a baby giraffe and her loving mama. There is so much to be afraid of in the African savannah. A baby giraffe has a short period of time to get up from the ground where it was dropped from it's mother. The lion's await to snatch the baby.. There is smoke, and the fear of a new experience of an ox pecker bird who flies suddenly landing on the back of the baby giraffe.

Through it all, the mama giraffe encourages the baby to stay still, that the bird that may hurt, this will help your skin grow stronger and thicker and thus it will no longer hurt. And then there is the tart scary smell of smoke coming from the edge of the area where the baby and mama are. Again, the mother teaches the baby that the fire is licking and eating the dry grass, creating opportunity for new grass to pull through. The mama tells her baby she is aware of the sting to the throat, but soon the smoke will be replaced by refreshing rain. "You are Strong With Me." the mother repeatedly tells her baby. "And, soon, as your legs grow taller, it will be more safe and enable you to run faster."

The area where the baby is born is filled with challenges and dangers. And through this beautiful illustration, the artists pull the reader in to the world of mama and baby as together they must over come the danger in order to survive.

Lush, incredible, stunning the art work of the illustrations are like non others. The books by the team of these two talented people invite the reader to observe both the dangers and the beauty of the early life and existence of the baby who cannot survive without a mother to teach her, as quickly the baby must learn or will perish.

Thank you to this team who invite adults and children to understand both he danger and beauty of nature.

Five Stars ( )

British author/illustrator team Chitra Soundar and Poonam Mistry, who previously collaborated on the gorgeous You're Safe With Me and You're Snug With Me, return to the form in this third wonderful picture-book. In Soundar's gentle text, a young giraffe is guided through the dangers of the savannah's dry season by her caring mother, who continually reassures here with the statement that "you're strong with me." Mistry's accompanying artwork, done in ink in intricate Indian folk style, depicts each scene, from the brush fire to the creek, in a stylized way...

Every bit as gorgeous as its predecessors, with an engaging and reassuring text, You're Strong With Me would make a lovely bedtime book, offering children an example, through the baby giraffe and her mother, of the constancy of parental care and love. The artwork is simply breathtaking, with such intricate patterns, and begs to be pored over again and again. I particularly loved the mandala-style depiction of the fire, and appreciated the subtle changes in color - bluish-green being used for the creek, for instance - throughout. I am glad to see that Poonam Mistry has recently come out with her own book, How the Stars Came To Be, which I certainly hope to track down. Recommended to any reader who has enjoyed other books by this pair, and to anyone who appreciates gorgeous folk-style illustration. ( )