This Is the Way a Baby Rides

During one day, an active baby plays, splashes, and stretches, and then starts all over again the next day.

PreS–In this story, the actions of a human youngster are matched with those of young forest animals. While the baby jumps Leap-ity leap on one side of a spread, a bunny does the same across a field on the other. Upon closer examination of the primary-shaded watercolor illustrations, viewers can search for a smaller depiction of the animal on the baby's page. The culminating spread shows the end of the day with a vivid orange sunset background. The font size varies for some action or onomatopoeic words. For example, This is the way a baby cries. WAA! WAA! WAA! WAA! Where's my lunch? With its excellent marriage of text and art, this sweet story should stand up to repeated readings.–Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA
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PreS-Gr. 2. Endpapers dressed in a charming picnic-blanket pattern scattered with animals lead into a charming story in which Mom, Dad, and a toddler set off for a picnic. On the left-hand side of each double-page spread, the family members are shown having fun together--running, playing, hiding, eating, napping. On the right, in fetching cameos, are an animal parent and offspring similarly engaged. As Baby eats, so do the squirrels: "Yummm-ity, yum. Munch and crunch." Splotchy watercolor-and-gouache art with comical, elongated figures give a lightness and freshness to the text, which is both a story about a family's day out and an opportunity for little ones to relish the rhythmic sounds of made-up words. The last eminently satisfying spread shows the hills at sunset as the family departs, animal families dotting the landscape. Connie Fletcher
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