Here Is the Baby

September 29, 2014
The events of a baby's day unfold in gentle, rudimentary prose that seeks out readers' attention by repeating the phrases "here is" and "here are" ("Here is the baby, hungry and wet. Mama changes his diaper. She gives him some milk"). After the baby's mother and sister leave for the day, the baby spends the afternoon with his father, greeting a neighbor ("Here is the baby. He's trying to talk. Here is the neighbor. She says Baby's name") before heading to the library, park, and back to their brownstone apartment as snow begins to fall. The baby's nighttime routineâdinner, playtime, bath, and bedâunfolds against the backdrop of the family's cozy home. Yoo's (Only a Witch Can Fly) understated block prints in autumnal and citrus tones convey a sense of security, while Kanevsky's (Sleepy Boy) quiet text hints at both tiny dilemmas and a child's broadening understanding of the world ("But where's Baby's mitten? And where is his mama?"). A reassuring and subtly insightful story for readers graduating from board books. Ages 2â5. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties.

September 15, 2014
On a familiar theme, this book follows a baby through his daily activities. Baby wakes up, is changed, has breakfast, goes for a walk with "the daddy," interacts with people in the neighborhood, attends storytime at the library, has fun on the playground, gets tired, and goes home to bath and bed. Family connections are tenderly portrayed, with lots of hugs and kisses from attentive parents and sister. Daddy is shown as a nurturing caregiver, and lots of healthy fruits and veggies are served. Kanevsky's text is simple enough to be accessible to emergent readers but not without a few roadblocks. The repetition of the titular phrase "Here is the baby/daddy/sister," which begins each text block, has a rhythm that suggests verse, and it may throw readers to discover it does not rhyme. Yoo's illustrations have a cozy, reassuring warmth, strongly reminiscent of mid-20th-century classics. Events in the baby's day are created in an attractive combination of colored pencils and linoleum prints, alternating full-page bleeds with small vignettes. Children will have fun spotting the missing green mitten where it was dropped on the stair at the beginning and reappears at the end of the story. Although there are some dark-skinned people in background scenes, the protagonist and his family appear to be Caucasian. Despite its rather lackluster text, this is a comforting book to snuggle with on the couch after a busy day. (Picture book. 1-4)

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November 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Here is a book that parents and grandparents, older brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and caregivers will read repeatedly to the babies they love. It's a simple and comprehensive list of the daily activities of an almost-walking baby and his loving family. As it happens, he lives in an urban environment and spends the day with his daddy while his sister's at school and his mother is gone-presumably to work. In a three-page sequence that will endear the book to librarians, the little guy goes to a storytime at the library (and is taken out when he's "starting to fuss"). A shopping trip, a playground visit, meals, an under-table tea party with Sister, bathtime, a story, a song, and bedtime round out Baby's day, all interspersed with plenty of cuddling. Yoo depicts folks pursuing their individual interests in ways that any baby would enjoy examining: another infant is riding behind his father on a bicycle, and there are dogs, trucks and changing weather to notice. The linoleum block prints are warm and homey. The palette is mostly drawn from autumn leaves, until moonlight shines into the blue bedroom where the baby succumbs to sleep. This is the sort of book you finish with a sigh of contentment.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Library, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
Kanevsky and Yoo take readers through a baby's day in a city neighborhood, from wakeup ("Here is the baby. And a bright morning sun") to bedtime ("Here is the baby. Shhh, Baby, shhh"). And a full day it is, complete with a library outing ("Here is the lady. She reads to the children"), a stroller-nap ("Now here is that baby, wrapped tight in his blanket"), and playground time, all supervised by a capable, low-key dad. The "here is" pattern in Kanevsky's text is reassuring, accessible, and concrete; even small children will be able to recognize and point out items in the pictures ("Here are Sister and Baby, with a blue china tea set"). Yoo's illustrations -- linoleum block prints, pencil drawings, and Photoshop -- are steeped in soft, cozy imagery. It appears to be late fall, and you can practically feel the nip in the air. The outing ends with Mom and Sister welcoming Dad and Baby home. Then there's dinner and a comforting bedtime routine (warm bath, cozy jammies), capped off by a cuddle with Mom and a sleepy-baby yawn. Although the exhaustive list of daily activities is more adult-centric than child- (babies don't care when or where they're fussy, for example; and what kid drifts off that peacefully?), it's the best kind of parent-trap book -- one that validates Baby's own experience, not just that of the grownups. elissa gershowitz

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)