Always your stepdad

"The first day we met,/ I was awkward and shy./ But your smile was/ so warm and so wise.// How could I have known/ how my life was to change/ when I looked in those bright,/ thoughtful eyes?" A scrapbook aesthetic punctuates this familial reminiscence by Stansbie, voiced by an adult narrator recalling a burgeoning relationship with a stepchild. Rhyming lines trace the duo's growing bond, time spent together solo and with the child's parent, and a moment "when I truly felt I was your.../ DAD." In desaturated blues, oranges, and reds, Kamshilina features childlike drawings, memorabilia (movie passes, train tickets), and snapshots, all collaged on the page with decorative elements, including patterned tape and stickers. As the adult muses on growing affection for the child, the recollections build to a self-referential image of the now-family of three peering into a photo album, and a promise: "I'll always be here." Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Publishing simultaneously: Always Your Stepmom. Ages 3--7. (Apr.)

Parenting is a difficult job, but stepping into the role of a stepdad can be even more challenging. Aimed at both parents and children, this book offers a reassuring glimpse of one blended family's journey. The stepdad is "awkward and shy" when he first meets the child, but the youngster greets him with a smile. The stepdad and child work out their relationship on their own, with little intervention from the child's primary parent. In general, the child guides the father "gently along this new path" as they take walks together, garden, and play dress-up until the day the child draws a picture of the two of them and labels the father figure "DAD!" It's a happy milestone for both of them, a sign of the precious, lasting relationship they've been working toward. Kamshilina makes use of two styles of illustrations. On the endpapers and periodically throughout, she offers a kid's-eye view of the new family in progress through illustrations that resemble a child's crayon drawings. More realistic illustrations, "taped" to the pages like scrapbook snapshots, capture important events and daily life alike. The stepdad is brown-skinned, while the rest of the family is white-presenting. A gentle and encouraging story with suggestions on how to create a loving blended family. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.