B Is for Baby
by Atinuke; illus.
B Is for Baby
by Atinuke; illus. by Angela Brooksbank
Preschool Candlewick 40 pp.
3/19 978-1-5362-0166-6 $16.99
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 Baby’s hair to the green-striped shirt that their Baba (grandfather) is wearing when Brother finally delivers his basket — with a surprise inside. Brava for Baby!
From the May/June 2019 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.
Add Comment :-
Be the first reader to comment.
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!