While I appreciate this book's concept and intent and the illustrations are indeed unique, I'm not sure that it is engaging enough or if it is written in such a manner that a toddler would be able to grasp any of the intended message.

In fact, it seemed to be more in the vein of a memory book wherein a parent reflects upon each year of a child's life, such that that child might read the entries when he/she is older and is better able appreciate the sentiment.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't particularly select this text for a child and I also likely would not recommend it to others, either.

Another cute book by author Sara O'Leary. I like that there are kids of different races and cultures. Would make a great gift for a 3-year-olds birthday.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This was a pretty decent book. It is all about when kids hit that magical year three. When they start to do various different things that they didn't do when they were 2 years old.

From talking about their days, to rescuing plushies, to saying their abcs, it was definitely a fun book to read even though I have no kids. I have worked at a kindergarten/creche, so that really helped with reading this book. I can still remember how much of a change they go through at that age. Slowly they are getting ready to go to school, each day they do something new that they didn't do the previous day.

I loved the last page and what was said there:
"You are three, and everything is changing so quickly.
But what will never, ever change is our love for you."

I do have to remove one star for the illustrations. It seemed like a mix of photographs (or at least realistic images) with a blend of illustrations. That isn't really my favourite kind of illustration, in fact, sorry (but you wanted my honest opinion) it looks ugly (and creepy).

But all in all, I did like this book, and I would recommend it to everyone.

When I opened this book, I knew I had read it before. Last year in fact. But it was titled You are Two. Not much has changed in the book, or in my review. Interesting art and story that is just not my thing.

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The story is a wonderful explanation of the developmental stage of three-year-olds, written just for them. The artwork is unique and beautiful, and I appreciate that the many cultures of people are depicted. I'll certainly read this to my boys in two years!

3★

Disclaimer – I haven’t read Sara O'Leary's previous books, You Are One and You Are Two, so I’m probably not the best person to comment on this one.

First, I'd like to say it's great to see such a mix of kids and no adult faces at all. Each illustration features a different kind of child, which makes it suitable for a lot of people. I think most three-year-olds will find a child to identify with.

I also like the feature of very real eyes with the wispy nature of the rest of the drawing. Very effective.

This is like a cute checklist of the new plateaus a toddler reaches – learning alphabet, telling stories, hugging friends, playing make-believe, and generally mucking about having a good time.

I’d prefer lighter, slightly brighter colours. The aquas and golds were easier to see – the browns and oranges seem a bit drab for my taste in kids’ books.

Each illustration also says something like “You can name colors and shapes now that you are three. . . you understand what some, more and all mean. . . . You prefer all.”

While these are probably typical benchmarks, they are a bit prescriptive and may upset some adults whose tots aren’t measuring up to expectations. Not all three-year-olds have conversations, for example.

"We have conversations now. You tell us all about your day and all the things you've done."

I like the idea of giving a sense of what some three-year-olds might be doing now. I’d just like to see these activities shown as things they might be becoming interested in rather than what they ARE doing.

I imagine this will make a nice companion for the previous two books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Owlkids Books for a preview copy.

I liked the story and I think it would be a delight for a three year old on their birthday, just wasn't a huge fan of the images used and if they were changed, made a bit clearer or brighter it would be so much better. 4 stars from me.