This sweet picture book is a warm and loving celebration of tiny families. When there's one parent and one child, there's plenty of fun to be had and love to be shared. The multicultural cast of families of two shows readers many wonderful things that paired-up people can do: have a snowball fight, plant seeds in a garden, share ice cream, build sandcastles, sing duets, and dance under the stars. Jaunty couplets describe the many ways they can be happy together: Two is enough / for a hand-in-hand hike, / for racing downhill / on a four-pedal bike. A secondary theme shows an appreciation for nature, as most of the time the families are depicted outdoors. Gentle watercolor illustrations mirror the text in simplicity and sweetness. On a more serious note, two in a family is enough to make memories, dry tears, and calm fears, assuring anyone who thinks otherwise that a small family can be safe, strong, and, quite simply, enough.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2015 Booklist

Bruce, a grumpy bear, hates everything except eggs. He's about to cook some up when they hatch into goslings right on his stove. Naturally, they think he's their mother. Higgins turns classic picture-book scenarios upside down, then wrings them for contemporary laughs : Bruce sullenly wears the goslings in a baby sling; they grow into teenagers in headphones. When they can't grasp the concept of migration, he makes the best of it and they head by bus to Miami, as a very modern family. MIXED ME! By Taye Diggs. Illustrated by Shane W. Evans. 32 pp. Feiwel & Friends. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) The versatile actor Diggs and the accomplished Evans - childhood friends who also collaborated on "Chocolate Me!" - take a refreshingly jazzy look at a mixed-race child's world. Mike has a joyous grin, ebullient hair, a dark-skinned dad and a lighthued mom. "Sometimes when we're together / people stare at whatever," he reports. Not to worry: He knows the fun in life is in how you mix it up. Evans's effervescent collages are an ideal match for the riffing, self-possessed voice Diggs gives Mike. TWO IS ENOUGH By Janna Matthies. Illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. 40 pp. Running Press. $15.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 6) Families of two star in this smoothly rhyming trip through the seasons. The title serves also as a refrain, as we see four pairs enjoying each other's exclusive company: a dad and daughter; dad and son; mom and daughter; and grandma and grandchild. They plant seeds, ride bikes, tidy up, play Go Fish. Each sweetly illustrated page is just a glimpse of everyday life, but for children in two-person families surrounded by bigger clans, also a reminder of the immense love in their own homes, too. THE LITTLE TREE By Muon Van. Illustrated by JoAnn Adinolfi. 32 pp. Creston Books. $16.95. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) Van ("In a Village by the Sea") tells the sad, lovely tale of a tree who realizes that the forest she lives in is shrinking. Worried, she asks a bird if trees do better in other places. The answer is yes, and the tree must decide whether she should let her little seed go in the hopes of a better life. As an author's note about Van's Vietnamese-American family spells out, this parable about emigration explores the excruciating decision many parents face to let children go into an unknown culture that has more to offer. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MY SISTER? Written and illustrated by Simona Ciraolo. 40 pp. Flying Eye Books. $17.95. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) A winsome little narrator is out to solve a mystery that lurks in any family with a sizable age gap between siblings: Her older sister is transformed, seemingly overnight. New habits, new friends, a new body - has she been replaced? Ciraolo ("Hug Me") adds amusing details to her fetching, expressive illustrations, showing just how much adolescence changes a family's landscape. It ends on a welcome note as the big sister grasps the younger girl's distress and reaches out. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.

"Sure as one plus one will always be two,/ Two is enough when it's me plus you!" writes Matthies (The Goodbye Cancer Garden) in this tribute to single parents and their singleton offspring. The book follows four parent-child dyads, diverse in ethnicity and age, through the seasons. Mourning (Princess Peepers Picks a Pet) renders her characters in full, bright colors, with calm, loving expressions, adding just enough detail to give a sense of time and place. Other than one scene in which a mother comforts her tearful child, the vignettes are devoted to everyday pleasures: a spread reading, "Two is enough for a thistledown wish,/ For passing the ball and playing Go Fish!" shows a close-up of a mother-daughter pair blowing on dandelions on a windy day, while a father and son enjoy a game of cards on a checkered picnic blanket. Matthies never explicitly compares these families to others, nor does she talk about the choices or circumstances that created the pairings. She keeps her message simple and clear: Head counts don't matter. All you need is love. Ages 3-up. Illustrator's agency: Shannon Associates. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 2-More is not always merrier when it comes to forming a family. A cast of diverse characters highlights the special relationships found between single caregiver and child within an enthusiastic rhyming text. These dynamic duos engage in age-appropriate interactions and highlight both indoor and outdoor activities; a child and an adult participate in ice-skating in winter, while another pair plant a garden as the weather turns warm. Conflict is absent in these sweet reflections as cheerful expressions highlight the thrill of close familial bonds. Even when the text provides a glimpse into the natural ebb and flow of emotions, the words always comfort: "Two is enough for drying your tears,/For cuddling close till the storm disappears." These relationships offer a portrayal of healthy and happy environments. "Two is enough/for refreshing the nest,/For a sweep and a shine/so it's looking its best." Nimble lines accentuate the fluidity of movement against spare backgrounds. VERDICT Here is a refreshing and soothing examination of the joy to be found in families, regardless of their size or makeup.-Meg Smith, Cumberland County Public Library, Fayetteville, NC © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Two is all you need for a family. Be it a mother and child, a father and child, or a grandparent and grandchild, two is plenty when you are surrounded by love. Modern families come in all shapes and combinations, and here Matthies happily celebrates the two-person family. Bouncing rhymes, always starting with the gentle platitude "two is enough," follow various ethnically diverse familial pairs as the seasons change. In winter, after a snowball fight and creating a snowman family (of two, naturally), "Two is enough for a warm-you-up hug, / For toasting hot chocolate, mug against mug." In spring, after a rainy-day bike ride, "Two is enough for scattering seeds, / For giving bouquets and a necklace of weeds." Some instances falter a bit (how many children refer to cleaning as "refreshing the nest?"), but most are honest and true. Mourning's wispy figures playfully cavort through the four seasons, with large smiles, high-fives, and hugs. There is no shortage of encouragement and love. In a bit of a design flaw, to some readers, the pairs on individual pages may automatically combine when looking at a full double-page spread to form one family, since the background landscapes are often shared. Readers in this living situation (both adult and child) will find comfort in the reminder that two is enough for support and love. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Lighthearted couplets (an appropriate form) describe various activities a single-parent, one-child family can share throughout the seasons. In summer, for example, "Two is enough / for a double-scoop treat, / For sand castle contests, / for splashing our feet." The warm illustrations for this pleasant and useful book feature four diverse little families (grandmother-grandson, father-daughter, etc.) enjoying their own company. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.