How’s it feel to be a baby? These kids’ books explore.
Welcome to a new year full of possibilities. With so many people making resolutions — vows to be brand-new people — it’s the perfect time to consider how it feels to be a truly brand-new person.
This collection of books about babies (and baby animals, and growing from a baby to a preschooler) is a great introduction for children welcoming new humans into their lives, or older humans looking back at those very earliest days of life.
“I Am a Baby” by Bob Shea.
(Ages 2 through 5. Candlewick Press. $17.99.)
Who better to tell the story of life with a baby than the baby himself ?
“I am a baby and I am not sleepy,” he cheerfully says — and everything that comes afterward is because of that. Bob Shea’s cozy illustrations add to the gentle humor of the story.
Dad is grumbly, the kitty is hiding, the table is sticky, and there is always work to be done ... but those weary faces are lit up with smiles when peace finally falls over the household, at least until the cycle starts again.
“How to Welcome a New Baby” by Jean Reagan, illustrated by Lee Wildish.
(Ages 4 through 8. Alfred A. Knopf. $18.99.)
This tongue-in-cheek guide to life with a new baby — part of a series of cheerful how-to books — includes such handy baby name suggestions as T. rex and Pretzel and instructs siblings to “run away” at the sight of a poopy diaper.
Underneath the silliness, though, are some loving hints: “Your pets might feel left out, so give them extra hugs. If you need an extra hug, just ask.”
From giving high-fives to playing hide-and-seek, this guide to “your baby” is a cheerful ode to the mess and mayhem of young families.
“Do Baby Elephants Suck Their Trunks? Amazing Ways Animals are Just Like Us” by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Katharine McEwen.
(Ages 2 through 5. Nosy Crow. $17.99.)
This survey of baby animals depicts the things baby humans have in common with them, from snuggling to exploring.
Written in a friendly Q&A format that invites young readers to chime in, Ben Lerwill’s book explores thumb-sucking (yes, baby elephants do suck their trunks), wobbly walking and playing with toys. The collage-style illustrations tenderly show parent-and-child interactions in the animal world, and the book ends with a look at human babies and an invitation to young readers to think about what animal they might want to be.
“Thirteen Stories About Ayana” by Amy Schwartz.
(Ages 4 through 8. Holiday House. $18.99.)
Babies grow into toddlers, curious, mobile, energetic young people who are fascinating every day — and Amy Schwartz’s book beautifully captures the everyday delights of toddler life in a series of perfectly tuned vignettes.
From “backwards day” to a pet-store trip to a day at the community garden with Dad, these small adventures capture the stuff that makes life lovely. City scenery and minor miracles — like the way zucchini seedlings turn into an avalanche of zucchini at the end of summer — fill this joyous, deceptively simple story of family, friends and pets, not to mention zucchini soup, zucchini bread, zucchini with breadcrumbs, stuffed zucchini and zucchini cake.