Smile for Auntie

by Diane Paterson

Three-color illustrations help to tell a story in which a pushy, suffocatingly persistent, insensitive adult is seen from the perspective of a child

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my first memories is of "reading" this book to my mom. I was actually just reciting it from memory, but at the time I didn't know the difference. Maybe this is a sentimental 5 star rating, but I love this book. I still have it 25+ years later, and have read it to all of my children.

[Debby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Auntie tries everything she can think of to make the baby smile and he finally does when Auntie leaves.

Dumb book with ugly color pictures.

[Capn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Determined to make him (her)
smile, rotund, bespectacled
Auntie sings, cavorts,
grimaces, and bestows ice-
cream, toys, tickles and kisses
on the long-suffering infant.
'I'll go away and never come
back!' she says finally, which
of course does the trick, and
she leaves behind a blissfully
happy baby. And there should,
be lots more smiling faces,
judging by the reactions of my
infants to this hilarious very
easy-to-read picture book.

Books for Keeps 4 Sept 1980

Ha! I enjoyed that way more than I should have! XD Lovely. Loving the summary for this on GR (at time of writing):

in which a pushy, suffocatingly persistent, insensitive adult is seen from the perspective of a child

Pretty sure the other reviewer(s) who gave it 1 star and called it 'dumb' were exactly the sort of people who need to read this.

Subversively funny. I'm going to test it out on a preschooler or two and see how it goes down, but I'm guessing well. BIG images, BRIGHT images (though word of warning - the OpenLibrary book was, erm, 'well read' and has stains all through it, sadly), FUNNY faces.. I simply loved the perspective of the auntie as she jumped or stood over the child - it's all from the kid's eye-level, and it's comical.

Always a great topic for laughs with the young: adults lacking self-awareness.

And people need to respect the personal boundaries and body-language of children. It's vital to their mental health. Stop being a broody, needy relation and get yourself a cat or a dog from a shelter who (hopefully! Please check!) would appreciate your tender ministrations of abject neediness 'love'. :) (Wow, that came out rather bitchier than I meant it to. Well, it's staying. There are some people who need to self-examine and lay off the kiddies!)

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

DVD Reading of Story

[Margaret Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portrayal of the travails of an Eastern European auntie, as she tries everything to get her indeterminate baby relative to smile. Not a total win for the representation of aunties all over the world, but at least she tried. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Gena Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly, delightful story book for kids. Shows the antics an adult will go through to get a smile, especially out of a baby or toddler. Would be a great read aloud!

[Zack Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid kids book. funny.

[Raghad · Rating 5 out of 5]

He smiled aunt, But when you leave!!!!😭

[Jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a children's book with a grown-up sense of humor.
Minimal verbiage -- great illustrations.
One of my all time favorites.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are pretty bad but it's a cute book. My daughter liked to read it too.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[Sarah Metts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my monthly story time favorite to read. I have so much fun acting like the Auntie and making the kids giggle at my silly voice and funny faces.