What Shall We Do with the Boo-hoo Baby? - Softcover

Cressida Cowell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0333735935 ISBN 13: 9780333735930

Publisher: Pan Childrens, 2001

Synopsis

'What shall we do with the boo-hoo baby?' ask Cat, Dog, Cow and Duck. They try feeding him, bathing him and playing with him, but nothing seems to work. Will they ever get Boo-hoo Baby to stop crying? An exceptional picture book, which has received an overwhelming response from both UK booksellers and international publishers: the hardback edition has already been sold in over 10 countries and has been translated into seven European languages. Very funny and beautfully illustrated, this book will delight young children and adults alike.

About this title

About the Author

Cressida Cowell lives in west London, and is the author of the successful Little Bo-Peep's Library Book and Hiccup. Ingrid Godon is Belgian and lives in Belgium with her husband and children. Her previous children's books have been translated into several European languages. This is her first book for Macmillan.

Review

Dog may seem unlikely caregivers for a hysterical infant, but they have some reasonable ideas of how to mollify him and they'll likely have readers hooting and howling all along the way. "Feed him," says the dog, after a ducky toy doesn't work, and they offer the baby everything from bananas to cat chow, accompanied by a chipper refrain of moos, quacks, meows and bow- wows. But despite these and several other earnest attempts, nothing seems to halt the stream of tears from the round-headed, single-tufted tyke. Belgian artist Godon's pastels heighten the comedy by giving the howling baby one entire side of each full-bleed spread, while the well-meaning quartet huddles on the other. Finally, Duck strikes pay dirt by putting Boo-Hoo Baby down for a nap, where he stays just long enough for the animals to collapse from exhaustion (in the last spread, they slumber as the wide-eyed infant peers through the bars of the crib). Cowell (Don't Do That, Kitty Kilroy!) and Godon (the Nelly and Caesar board books) strip the familiar genre to its bare bones, and it feels almost new again. Cowell's sense of economy and pacing move the story along at a fast clip, while Godon calls attention to the situation's vaudevillian qualifies by franting the spreads on the same plane, as if they were scenes from a stage. Ages 2-6. (Oct.)
--Publishers Weekly, Nov. 6, 2000

Boo-hoo Baby will not stop crying in spite of the efforts of a cow, cat, dog, all duck. Each animal tries a new trick to placate baby but only duck succeeds. Cowell's text is simple, to the point, and, best of all, full of repetition and animal sounds that deliglt toddlers. Godon's uncomplicated illustrations of the sobbing child and bewildered animals are a perfect match. Destined to be a staple in preschool programs, this title is a joy to read aloud and the large, uncluttered pictures work equally well for a large group as for one-on-one sharing.
---School Library Journal, March 2001 starred review

About this edition

• Publisher: Pan Childrens
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0333735935
• ISBN 13: 9780333735930
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Ingrid Godon