Soon, Your Hands by Elizabeth Lilly, Jonathan Stutzman
Published by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers on 2023
ISBN: 0593427076
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Soon, Your Hands is a message from a wise caregiver (told in first person) who enumerates the many ways the child’s hands will discover new experiences and skills.  It is told in the present, with an eye to the future. The reader watches three young children, as each explores the world around them in this picture book by Jonathan Stutzman. 

As the story progresses, we learn much about each child’s family and interests through Lilly’s watercolor and ink illustrations, which contextualize the abstract concepts of the text: “Soon your hands will discover the world”, as Reyna waves to her father’s plane as it takes off. We do not learn the names of the children until nearly the end of the book, when they are depicted as adults in occupations, seen now as a progression from their childhood interests. 

A two-page American Sign Language Glossary in the back of the book illustrates and explains how to sign some of the ASL words Reyna uses with her family, which could prompt a rereading of the book. Children may evaluate the characters’ actions (baking a cake, using ALS, caring for a kitten, etc.) and say, “I could do that!” The gentle and rhythmic pace of the prose makes it a very good bedtime story nominee. Recommended for public library collections.