Henry's Baby - Hardcover

Mary Hoffman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0751370045 ISBN 13: 9780751370041

Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

Henry's baby brother was OK, as baby brothers go. But he didn't do anything for Henry's image at school. Then, one day, friends from school dropped in at the house and Henry found that having a baby brother was far more interesting than he thought.

About this title

From Booklist

Ages 4-8. The author of the acclaimed picture book Amazing Grace (1991) tells another upbeat, nonpreachy story that challenges gender roles. This time the grade-schooler is a boy. Henry wants to be part of the in-group so badly that it hurts. He's not trendy or clever or athletic or tough, and he's not sure the gang will like him at all if they know he has a baby brother at home. He loves the baby, who thinks Henry's the greatest. "It was just that a baby didn't really fit the image Henry wanted--"Tough. Cool. Interesting." Of course, the baby is what makes Henry special, and when the cool kids come over to his house, they totally succumb. Winter's multicultural cast captures the intensity of peer pressure--there's a great picture of the gang lounging and whispering together in class while Henry looks on from outside. Without condescension, this book gets the comedy of cool behavior and the slapstick physical joy of loving a baby. The guy in shades is a pushover. The story dramatizes the surprising paradox about status and conformity: What's special about you is what makes you cool. Hazel Rochman

From Kirkus Reviews

Henry yearns to be one of a group of boys who seem to be special: Skif is ``trendy''; ``The Prof [is] a computer-head''; ``Zip'' is a whiz at sports; Jake is really tough. All Henry has is a baby, which he considers an embarrassment. In the natural course of things, he does make friends with the admired group and visits their homes. When he finally invites them to his house, he makes sure little George will be elsewhere, but suddenly Mom has to rush off and leave George with his big brother. Not surprisingly, the others promptly fall for the baby, and are soon involved in feeding and playing with him and planning his education. Winter's enchanting pictures of the cherubic George (and the not-so-very-tough big boys) do a lot to explain this predictable but eminently satisfying denouement, while Hoffman (Amazing Grace, 1991) once again dramatizes young schoolchildren's concerns with gentle humor and sagacity. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0751370045
• ISBN 13: 9780751370041
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Susan Winter