Iris, a young curious girl, is impatiently awaiting the arrival of her baby cousin, Gregory. She asks all of her family members when Gregory will arrive and they give her exotic made up answers. Finally, she meets Gregory and realizes how small he, but then concludes that soon Gregory will be waiting for her.

Kimberly Willis Holt truly caught my attention when reading her novel, Mister and Me. I loved the relationships formed between Mister and the daughter in that book and it is similar to the relationship that Iris and Gregory formed during this book. Holt did a great job at keeping this book funny while also showing deep meaning. The last line of the book captures the essence of time. Holt says, "He will grow and grow like a wild sunflower. And soon, but not too soon, though not too long at all. Gregory will be waiting for me." Iris realizes here that time will go by fast as she watches Gregory become a grown up while he will be waiting for her to pick him up, play games, and ride bikes. At the same time, she also realizes that she will have to wait a long time for that to happen, just like she had to wait for him to be born. She is confused throughout the entire book about how time works, until finally it hits her that time does not always follow her schedule. ( )

Waiting for Gregory by Kimberly Holt was about a girl named Iris waiting for her baby cousin Gregory to come. She ask everyone when Gregory was going to come and got different scenarios from each person. In the end she realized that she would really have to wait for him to come. I liked that she was so excited for her baby cousin to come. I think that some kids aren’t as excited because they don’t want the baby to have all of the attention. But maybe Iris was the only child, so she needed someone else besides her. ( )

I'm afraid this is one only I will like. While Iris waits (and waits and waits) for her new cousin to be born, family members and friends tell her various tales about where babies come from and how long they take to get here. The whimsical illustrations are a little out-there, but they also seem perfectly suited to the mysterious subject at hand. Not for every reader, but I like it. ( )