?Cummings ("My Aunt Came Back, " 1998, etc.) provides another glimpse of real life in this exuberant family story. Mother needs big sister, Amanda Lynne, to help with her toddler brother, so under mother's watchful eye, Amanda Lynne spends the day baby-sitting. Eating, dressing, playing outdoors, bathing, and getting ready for bed'all the normal activities of a baby's day'are humorously detailed in rhyme and illustration. The day ends with a quiet, bedtime scene'Amanda reading to the baby; pussycat curled up in the bed; baby almost ready to sleep. And fun begins again the next morning. Mother's refrain is what an angel he can be, ' but the illustrations show Amanda Lynne's many frustrations with her active, not so angelic, little sibling. Each double-page spread is an amusing scene of Amanda and the baby, their toy-filled home and back yard. Mother is never seen in the pictures, but Cummings shows her hands or a bit of her face and the reader has the sense of a loving presence. Amanda's expressive face reflects all the feeling of a nine- or ten-year-old when faced with a day spent with a baby who gets into everything, makes a mess, and chases the cat. The family's pet cat, which appears in every scene, often echoes Amanda's feelings with the most expressive feline eyes. Older siblings will really appreciate this one.?--"Kirkus Reviews""In this delightful romp told in rhyme, Cummings shows a day in the life of Amanda Lynne and her very active baby brother. No matter what the toddler does, Mother finds him perfect, as evidenced by her often repeated line, "What an angel he can be." Only his big sister's quick responses save him and the long-suffering family cat from disaster afterdisaster. Vibrant, full-page expressive illustrations show a loving African-American family living in a cozy home filled with children's clutter. This entertaining read-aloud could be paired with Pat Hutchins's "Where's the Baby?" (Greenwillow, 1988), which features another less-than-angelic baby brother."--"School Library Journal"?Amanda Lynne, ' said her mother/ Come help me feed your baby brother./ Grab that towel and Mr. Bear./ Oops! There's oatmeal in his hair./ Wipe off his face. Now look, you see/ What an angel he can be.'Amanda Lynne obeys her mother's unrelenting rhymed imperatives, but she is too busy to really appreciate her rambunctious toddler brother's angelic appearance until he is asleep. The rhyme is sing-songy, but its steady lilting rhythm suits the resigned cheerfulness of school-aged Amanda Lynne. Large uncomplicated blocks of color in gouache, watercolor, and colored pencil are loud and glitzily unsubtle, but careful composition keeps the layouts from being as busy as the siblings. Cummings' African-American family handles their lively preschooler with encouraging capability that will bolster exhausted young caretakers of similar little angels.? --"The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books"?Amanda Lynn has her hands full with her baby brother. Her mother thinks Baby's a little angel, but Amanda's the one who cleans the oatmeal from his hair, and watches him chase cats, splash water in the tub, and squirm at bedtime. Cummings captures the lot of the older sister in a readable rhyme, while her artwork shows the mischievousness of the little ?angel.??.The two-page spreads are brightly colored and full of nuance. Amanda Lynn is featured with that quintessentialbig-sister look, a cross between affection and exasperation. Baby, on the other hand, is giggly and silly, and so adorable you want to wrap your arms around him'though it's doubtful you would feel wings.? --"Booklist"
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