I Just Couldn't Wait to Meet You

by Kate Ritchie, Hannah Somerville (Illustrator)

When you were still a treasured bump, tucked safe away inside, I thought about you night and day and in my sleep—it's true. My heart was full of hope and love. I just couldn't wait to meet you.

A heartwarming story to share with the children in your family, this picture book is perfect for little ones asking about their family before they were born, or any children feeling insecure about the arrival of a new sibling.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2015

Reviews

[Melissa (Mel’s Bookshelf) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t often take my son to the library. He loves books, but he doesn’t really like the quiet of the library, and his attention span is still only about 10 seconds! But considering he is starting school next year, I thought it would be good to start to go a bit more regularly. He was very excited about getting his very own library card, and we went through to the children’s section to borrow his very first book! I assumed that he would go for something with dinosaurs, but he spotted I Just Couldn’t Wait to Meet You on the display shelf. He said that the babies were cute and exclaimed “This is the one I want to borrow Mummy!” It wasn’t until we got home and he asked to read it that I even realised it was written by Australian actor Kate Richie. I didn’t even know that she had written a children’s book!

I Just Can’t Wait to Meet You is a beautiful story about a mother to be, waiting on the arrival of her precious baby. She wonders if it will be a boy or a girl and what they will look like, and describes how much love she has for them before they even arrive.

I was unexpectedly touched by this book. As I was reading it to my son, it brought up a lovely conversation about how I was feeling when he was in my tummy. He was asking me if I was excited, and if I knew if he was a boy or a girl. And then we started talking about what it was like when he was born and what he was like as a baby. All these things we had discussed before, but he usually gets so distracted so it was lovely to have the conversation when he was really thinking about it. He was telling me about how he was excited to meet his sister when she came out of my tummy, and how much he loves her, even though she yells and pinches him sometimes. My heart just about melted!

The illustrations throughout the book are just GORGEOUS and it is really beautifully written. An extremely pleasant surprise, I might even buy a copy for the kids!

What did my kids think of I Just Couldn’t Wait to Meet You?
My daughter (1 year old) loved pointing at the babies and saying “Bubba!”. She’s too young to have understood the story I think, but she loved the pictures and the rhymes.

My son (4 years) thought the story was very sweet and loved all the pictures. I am not sure if he is going to want to return it to the library! I have already had to read it to him 5 times!

Would I recommend I Just Couldn’t Wait to Meet You?
Yes absolutely! Especially if you have young children, or pregnant! It will surely bring out all the emotions! A lovely book!

All in all a great choice by my son for his first library book! I am sure the dinosaurs will be next!

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[Tamara Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

[Dimity Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sommerville's snuggly warm illustrations hug a tale that will no doubt stir up plenty of post natal emotions for many. This pretty little board book would also make a cherishable mother-to-be-gift to keepsake for when those cute baby moments develop into times when you wished they'd stayed inside you!

[Faye]

This is a very nice simple children's book which Australian Actor Kate Ritchie has written during her pregnancy, nice illustrations.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was so adorable, so endearing, so charming. I
Just Couldn't Wait To Meet You Captures an expectant mother's heart perfectly. A wonderful book to snuggle up and read with your child to show then how much you wanted them when they were still in your tummy. It would make a lovely gift for an expectant mum. I highly recommend this one.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last day of The Reading Rush... running out of time to finish my last book...at a baby shower... *picks up book* “well, looks like you’re the chosen one.”

Seventh book read for The Reading Rush 2020

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this together as a family and I cried. What a beautiful little book. I think I’ll eventually purchase this as it’s something I’d love for us to read over and over again.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of this book is now up on the CBCA's Reading Time web page, readingtime.com.au