Actress Curtis's return engagement amply confirms the promise shown in her debut picture book (When I Was Little). A sweet and sunny look at adoption, the story is framed as a much-loved and clearly much-requested family tale, and rings true from beginning to end. Combining wit ("Tell me again how you carried me like a china doll all the way home and how you glared at anyone who sneezed") with candor ("Tell me again how you couldn't grow a baby in your tummy, so another woman who was too young to take care of me was growing me"), Curtis deftly addresses the logistics of adoption in a matter-of-fact manner that radiates love and reassurance. Cornell, who also illustrated Curtis's previous books, again serves up whimsical, Roz Chast-like watercolors crammed with amusing visual asides: a jar of diaper cream sports the label "Tub o' Lard"; a tiny bandage on a newborn's tummy carries the notice "future bellybutton"; a little girl and her dog, tucked cozily into bed, wear matching curlers (the girl's in her hair; the pup's on his ears). It's hard to imagine a warmer celebration of the special joys of an adopted family. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?While Curtis's fame as an actor may get this adoption story special attention, it deserves recognition in its own right. If the title suggests a blow-by-blow description of the birth process, readers are quickly set straight; the news arrives by telephone. The narrator's adoptive parents rush to the hospital via plane, and any questions about the identity of the birth mother are brushed aside; she is simply "too young" to take care of her child. The new parents see their daughter in the nursery, howling wide-mouthed and oblivious to their pleased and loving gazes. Both participate equally in this tale; the first night home with the baby, the father tells her about baseball, holding her and a bat cradled in his arms. The humor implicit in the text is made explicit in the illustrations: watery, cartoonstyle watercolors with fine-pen accents to show outlines and facial features. This book exudes action and light; nothing here will lull children to sleep, except the warmth of feeling and comfort. It does not delve into the complexity of adoptive dynamics, but simply affirms family love, the pleasure parents feel about new babies, and how pleased children are to hear the story of their birth.?Ruth K. MacDonald, Bay Path College, Longmeadow, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 3^-6. "Tell me again about the night I was born," begs a little girl, who then joyously proceeds to supply all the details herself: how the phone rang in the middle of the night; how her parents got on an airplane and traveled to the hospital, where they would pick up the baby they would adopt; how they cradled her and called her "baby sweet." Curtis' use of an ingenuous childlike narrator is just as successful here as it was in When I Was Little (1993), and so are Cornell's comical, exuberant illustrations, which have great child appeal. The double-page foldout, "New Baby (actual size)," is a riot. The "tell me again about" device eventually grows a bit tiresome, and Curtis leads children slightly astray by alluding to a baby "in your tummy," but that's more than balanced by the happiness and honest affection imbuing every page. Although this will be a good lead-in to Betty Lifton's more pointed Tell Me a Real Adoption Story (1994), it is a story any child, adopted or not, will enjoy. Stephanie Zvirin

From Kirkus Reviews
Everyone--including adoptive parents and children longing for validation of their unique experiences--will embrace this pitch- perfect celebration of true family values. ``Tell me again'' is the endearing catchphrase a young girl employs to get her parents to recount the creation of their family: the late-night phone call (``Tell me again how you screamed''), a plane ride (``and how there was no movie, only peanuts''), the trip to the hospital (``you both got very quiet and felt very small''), love at first sight in the nursery (``you couldn't believe something so small could make you smile so big''). ``Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms and called me your baby sweet. Tell me again how you cried happy tears.'' It's all here, including a childlike family tree and a funny spread showing a ``New Baby (actual size).'' In those scenes and others, Cornell's quirky watercolors enhance the book's tone and expand on its humor, effectively alternating between highly comic scenes and quieter, more loving ones. (Picture book. 2-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description
Tell me again about the night I was born . . Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents... Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms . .

In asking her mother and father to tell her again about the night of her birth, a young girl shows that it is a cherished tale she knows by heart.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell come together once again to create a unique celebration of the love and joy a baby brings into the world. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is a heartwarming story, not only of how one child is born but of how a family is born.

Ingram
The author/illustrator team who brought readers the bestselling When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth have joined together again to create a fresh new picture book. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born presents a unique, exuberant story about adoption and about the importance of a loving family. Full color.

Card catalog description
A young girl asks her parents to tell her again the cherished family story of her birth and adoption.

From the Publisher
Tell me again about the night I was born . . Tell me again how you would adopt me and be my parents... Tell me again about the first time you held me in your arms . .

In asking her mother and father to tell her again about the night of her birth, a young girl shows that it is a cherished tale she knows by heart.

Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell come together once again to create a unique celebration of the love and joy a baby brings into the world. Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born is a heartwarming story, not only of how one child is born but of how a family is born.

TELL ME AGAIN--A CELEBRATION OF LOVE IN WORDS AND PICTURES!, March 10, 2001

Initially, I ordered this book for my niece who is just a little more than 2 years old. Adopted by my younger sister in Russia at 10 months, her arrival in our family has been a joyous occurrence. One of the things I love and most look forward to is giving her books, telling her stories, and maybe even writing a book *for her* some day. Meanwhile, Jamie Lee Curtis has created a joyful interlude from her own experience as an adoptive parent. This book oozes love and whimsy, and the illustrations by Laura Cornell are delightful to the eye, yet filled with amusing details which will keep them fresh through at least a million readings;) I can't wait to read this story to my niece...if I can bring myself to part with the book!

A previous reviewer (apparently an unhappy adoptee) spouted opinions full of anger and resentment, alluding to "Jamie Lee's obvious bias against birth mothers." I found that very sad. After all, this is a children's book, and IMHO, it was created as a means of expressing an adoptive parent's joy and love for this child, and told through the eyes of the child, it has a precious quality, reminding us how easy it is to teach a child to love and be loved. This book is a treasure, and while I think it's a special gift for any adopted child, it's warmth and whimsy will prove irresistible to anyone who reads it! --This text refers to the Paperback edition