Ha Ha Baby! - Softcover

Kate Petty

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1905417160 ISBN 13: 9781905417162

Publisher: Boxer Books, 2008

Synopsis

Ha Ha Baby is a picture book about a grumpy little baby. Just how far will this family go to get their little one to laugh? With bright and colourful illustrations and a bouncy, jovial text, Ha Ha Baby will bring a smile to the face of all young readers. A fun family tale about clowning around.

About this title

About the Author

Kate Petty lectured on writing and editing for Middlesex University. She was the commissioning editor for Cornwall's bio-diversity attraction, the Eden Project. She was a well-known and respected writer of non-fiction and educational books, writing for publishers such as Orion, Macmillan and Random House. She was the author of the Around the World series with Oxfam published by Frances Lincoln. Sadly, she died in 2007. Georgie Birkett earned her degree in Illustration at Brighton University. Since graduation she has worked on many books, including novelty, young fiction and picture books. Georgie lives in Lewes, Sussex with her husband David and her cat, Stripey.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1—"Today, our baby is not laughing," begins this slight story. Ma, Pa, Grandma, Grandpa, the dog, and the cat try, but none of them can make the child smile. Suddenly, "I came in." Predictably, "I" is an older sibling, the one who makes the baby laugh. The childlike pastel-outlined mixed-media illustrations feature a cast of characters with round heads, large round eyes, and shaggy hair. The women sport tiny, brightly colored bowlike lips, while the men have lines for mouths. Although the art is appealing enough, with plenty of white space and soft-edged characters, the seemingly random decision to dress Grandma as a fairy and Grandpa as a pirate is a bit strange. The text reads fairly smoothly, although some children may find the overuse of larger type for emphasis somewhat off-putting. Ultimately, the plot is so slight as to be almost nonexistent, the sudden change in point of view is jarring, and the story has been done many times before. For more successful treatments of ways to make a fussy baby smile, go with Phyllis Root's What Baby Wants (Candlewick, 1998), Frieda Wishinsky's Oonga Boonga (Dutton, 1999), or Cressida Cowell's What Shall We Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby? (Scholastic, 2000).—Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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About this edition

• Publisher: Boxer Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1905417160
• ISBN 13: 9781905417162
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 26