Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Best (Bug Off!) opens this double infant portrait with two babies greeting each other from their respective fifth-floor apartment windows, "somewhere/ in the big, big city/ across a beep-beep street." One infant, "this baby," has dark brown skin and curly black hair that "bounces when he giggles." The other, "that baby," has light brown skin and sports a floppy red hat that "falls off/ when she wiggles." Via stylized multimedia spreads predominated by browns, blues, and reds, Kheiriyeh (A Persian Passover) draws this baby and his mama, who "sing about a baby whale," and that baby and her papa, who sing "the baby shark song." Across the street from one another, they have their diapers changed, eat, and respond to nap time. And when both parent/child duos head to the park, "Look who's here!" and "Look who's there!" This buoyant slice-of-life tale interweaves the duo's temperamental differences, love of joyful noise, and patient caregivers against the background of a city's cheerful hubbub, underscoring the ways that proximity can contribute to relationships and interactions. Ages 3--7. Author's agent: Melanie Kroupa, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Feb.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
A jaunty, rhythmic text sets the mood for considering similarities and differences among people: "Somewhere in the big big city across a beep-beep street...up two tall buildings...two happy babies look out their morning windows at the very same time. / This baby. / And that baby." Rich, textured mixed-media art showcases an urban environment full of color, music, and life. The two babies set about their similarly structured but individual days. They both like games and songs, but not the same ones. They both require frequent diaper changes, get hungry, and need naps. The illustrations create humorous distinctions in the parallel routines, and the well-paced story offers plenty of room to pause and notice these details. When one baby's nap ends in tears and the other's failed nap ends in grumpiness, both are whisked out for walks headed in opposite directions. In an appropriate conclusion to this cheerful compare-and-contrast story, the babies end up at the same park bench, each one delighted to see the other. Julie RoachJanuary/February 2024 p.71 (c) Copyright 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
Two babies, two lives, and a special day of shared greetings and friendships. "Somewhere / in the big, big city / across a beep-beep street / along two bumpy sidewalks" live this baby and that baby, who greet each other from opposite-facing apartment windows. This baby has deep brown skin and "a lot of curly black hair," similar to his Mama's. That baby has beige skin and straight dark hair, similar to her Papa's. Together the babies lead boisterous, bouncy lives in which they eat (definitely!), nap (eventually!), and play (always!). Their loving, watchful single parents take them on a walk through the neighborhood to a playdate at the park, in a spread designed like a map that invites readers to follow their adventures. Lending itself to multiple readings, Best's effervescent text captures the peppy rhythms on each detail-packed spread, often split between this baby's experience (on the left page) and that baby's (on the right). Using a classic throwback palette of muted reds and blues, set against a cream background, Kheiriyeh's illustrations are endearingly hilarious (especially a spread on which Papa seems aggrieved at the frequency with which he needs to change his little one's diaper). The parallel lives of these two families reverberate with a sense of community and camaraderie desperately needed in today's divided world, accompanied by a soundtrack of giggles, wails, and banging drums. Utterly irresistible. (Picture book. 1-4) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
