Review by New York Times Review
These books give babies a generous helping of their erv favorite subiect: themselves. BUSY BABIES Written and illustrated by Amy Schwartz Building blocks, removing socks, with their mamas, in pajamas - almost anything you can picture a baby or toddler getting up to makes an appearance in this casually rhyming book. The result is a clever catalog of baby life, featuring a pleasing array of families of all backgrounds. Schwartz ("A Teeny Tiny Baby") gives babies lots to stare at, and grown-ups may find themselves just as delighted by her exquisite illustrations. Her delectable babies have big heads, small features and even smaller feet and hands, and they wear outfits of detailed perfection. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages Oto 3) ? IS FOR BABY ByAtinuke. Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. Who needs the whole alphabet when one letter can tell a story as entertaining as this one, set in a colorful, lively West African village? "B is for baby," of course, but each page adds a "B" word as the baby girls brother rides his bicycle to visit their Baba - grandpa - in his bungalow. Turns out the tyke has stowed away in a basket of bananas, making for a funny, happy reunion. Atinuke and Brooksbank ("Baby Goes to Market") have created an appealing package of rhythmic repetition and vibrant images. 40 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 5) YOU ARE NEW Written and illustrated by Lucy Knisley "When you're new," asks this delightfully assured debut children's book from the acclaimed graphic novelist Knisley, "what can you do?" The comforting answers explain a baby's world to her ("You can fit in tiny spots / You get carried quite a lot") while also preparing her for adventures and challenges ahead ("You might not know just want to do ... / That's O.K. when you are new"). But it's the memorable digital art that makes this book a true standout - the sweet-looking babies who crawl and traipse through these pages have a refreshing hint of comics-style edge. 42 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) ANIMAL BABIES LIKE TO PLAY By Jennifer Adams. Illustrated by Mary Lundquist. The animal babies in this adorably drawn alphabet book include a bunny, a jaguar and a quail. They play with jacks and go fishing. They build with blocks and bake pie. Its simpler than it sounds - they are all babies, wearing zip-up animal suits. As Lundquist ("Cat & Bunny") works through the letters, she also delivers a low-key message that playing is fun by yourself, and also with friends. Eagle-eyed babies might even spot Zebra hiding in the background of other letters' pages. 32 pp. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 5) BABY DAY By Jane Godwin and Davina Bell. Illustrated by Freya Blackwood. Birthdays come once a year, but the excitement around them lasts ... possibly forever? Accordingly, this clever book about a first birthday party can be enjoyed any old day. Adorable babies tumble, squawk and dribble their way to the festivities. Cake time comes, the crowd begins to melt down, and the birthday kid is on to a bath, story and bedtime. Blackwood's loose pencil lines and brushy bright colors lend a lovely naturalistic look. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) UP UP UP DOWN Written and illustrated by Kimberly Gee Opposites loom large for babies, and Gee brings the concept to adorable life. Her action-packed visual vignettes refreshingly feature a brown-skinned baby and caretaker dad who dramatize the obvious ("no" and "yes") and the more subtle ("yay" and "uh oh"). Her touch is feather-light, with many telling details to spot. 32 pp. Putnam. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) HOORAY FOR BABIES! By Susan Meyers. Illustrated by Sue Cornelison. The pages of this celebration of baby life teem with tiny friends of every stripe, doing baby stuff together. With the little ones collectively narrating ("We raise our sippy cups up high and give a baby cheer") and practically no grown-ups in sight, Meyers ("Everywhere Babies") and Cornelison ("Lost and Found Cat") have created a buoyant mood of baby-centric fun. 32 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $14.99. (Ages 0 to 3) READ TO YOUR BABY EVERY DAY Edited by Rachel Williams. Illustrated by Chloe Giordano. This treasury of 30 classic nursery rhymes runs through the standards - Old Mother Hubbard, Humpty Dumpty - including many you'll be tempted to sing, like "The Muffin Man." Williams keeps old-fashioned words ("I saw a ship a-sailing") but pares down some longer verses to just one stanza, to fit a baby's attention span. Best of all are Giordano's illustrations, done in heart-stoppingly delicate embroidery. 32 pp. Frances Lincoln. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 2, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
This clever story puts the focus on the letter B. In fact, it's the key element that moves the text. In an unspecified African village, we meet a baby whose mother is putting beads in her hair. B is also for basket; this woven one is to be brought to Baba by Brother, filled with bananas for this grandfather's breakfast. But what readers see, and Brother does not, thanks to his headphones blocking out any sounds as he rides to Baba's, is that Baby has crawled into the basket secured on the rear of his bike. Along the way, Baby spies birds and butterflies and gets a biscuit when finally discovered by a surprised grandfather. A miniature panorama on the final page shows the trip home. The children's mom doesn't seem pleased by the adventure. Each page displays one terse sentence, such as "B is for beautiful." The colorful mixed-media art, however, is expansive, whether showing a single image of a curious baby playing with her toe, or detailing the lush surroundings. This one's a charmer.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
As they did in Baby Goes to Market, Atinuke and Brooksbank include readers in the book's antics while leaving out the characters who surround Baby. Pictures tell the story alongside minimal text that introduces B words (baby, beads, basket). After Baby tumbles into a basket of bananas bound for Baba's bungalow, Brother, plugged into his headphones, replaces the basket's cover and loads it onto his bicycle, oblivious to its additional cargo. Subtle visual foreshadowing gives kids a peek at upcoming words as the boy pedals along: one of the birds seen perched in a baobab tree appears at close range on the following spread ("B is for Beautiful"), which also displays a baboon-filled tree in the background ("B is for Baboon"). A page later, one of the monkeys snags the top off the basket, exposing its stowaway passenger and paving the way for the big reveal to a shocked Brother and thrilled Baba. Featuring loose lines and an earth-toned backdrop, Brooksbank's energetic mixed-media art showcases the brilliant colors of African vegetation and clothing, and infuses Atinuke's sweet phrases with warmth and humor. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Toddler-PreS-"B is for Baby" is the first and last line of this entertaining story of a baby girl, her brother, a bicycle, some bananas, and a big surprise. Highlighting words that begin with the letter "B," and with only four words per page-except for one spread-a simple story emerges that will engage small children and be accessible, with a little help, to early readers. In an unspecified African village, a mother gets her very young daughter dressed and ready for the day. She sends her son off with a basket filled with bananas to share with his grandfather. Unbeknownst to the boy, his little sister has fallen into the basket and is along for the ride to Baba's bungalow. The tale takes readers forward and then reverses the steps as the boy returns to his mother with his sister in tow. Illustrations in mixed media are large and bright with a white background. Animals, trees, flowers, and the inhabitants' dress reveal a bit of village life. VERDICT This tale offers eye-catching colors and a clever and fun way to introduce the "B" sound while telling a story.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market) reunite for another tenderly funny slice-of-life story set in an unspecified African village and starring a winsome baby girl, who is dearly loved. This alphabet book sticks with the letter B, with B being for baby, beads (cradled by her mother, the girl gets beads put in her hair), and then an intriguing woven basket with a lid. When the little girl peeks inside, B is for banana and breakfast, as a sequence of pictures shows her overbalancing into the basket and then settling in happily. B is also for Brother, a supremely oblivious and carefree older sibling wearing headphones and grooving to his music as he loads up the basket onto his bicycle, never noticing his baby sister inside. Spacious off-white pages set off the people in the mixed-media illustrations, with shadows to add depth and an almost tactile feel; the style changes to full-bleed pictures as Brother rides along past abundant bougainvillea, birds, and a bus full of interested people. Brooksbank uses warm colors, from the bright beads in Babys hair to the green-striped shirt that their Baba (grandfather) is wearing when Brother finally delivers his basketwith a surprise inside. Brava for Baby! susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A circular tale of family love with visual rewards for sharp-eyed listeners. In this story that looks like an alphabet book but focuses exclusively on the letter B, a smiling woman, probably mama, stands in a yard, holding Baby cheek-to-cheek, as another woman chats with four children under the awning of a small tin-roofed house in the background. Many visual details hint at this book's African (probably Nigerian) setting. After Mama Beads Baby's hair, Brother loads a Basket of Bananas onto his Bicycle while bopping to the beat of what's playing through his headphones, oblivious to everything elseespecially the fact that Baby climbed into the Basket to have a Banana for Breakfast. On the road, he passes a Baobab tree, Birds, a Butterfly, Baboons, a Bus brimming over with brown-skinned riders crossing a Bridge, and more sightsfew of which Brother notices. Nothing, however, escapes the keen eyes of Baby. Only when Brother lifts the Bananas from the Bicycle rack does anyone discover the stowaway. A surprised Baba happily welcomes both grandchildren, who join him for Biscuits and bottles of something bubbly. Brooksbank effectively avoids stereotypes while adding humor and cultural specificity to the story with her detailed and lively, colorful, mixed-media images. Safety-conscious caregivers may suck their teeth, but there's no denying the joy in this book.Atinuke has bottled the delightful energy of the Anna Hibiscus books and poured it into this treat for younger readers. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
