Baby Face: A Book of Love for Baby

by Cynthia Rylant, Diane Goode (Illustrator)

Overview

Baby lovely, Baby sweet, Baby so divine. I love your pretty baby face. Tell me you are mine.

From the early morning of a new day to afternoon nap time to the evening bath and bedtime, a baby's life is sometimes quiet, sometimes busy, and always filled with baby love.
Newbery Medal recipient Cynthia Rylant and beloved artist Diane goode joyfully celebrate all of the treasured moments in a baby's life in six read-aloud verses for babies and toddlers to share — especially with those they love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416949091
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	03/04/2008
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	789,443
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, Motor Mouse, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novel Missing May received the Newbery Medal. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Diane Goode has written seven and illustrated over sixty beloved and critically acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times bestsellers Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts. She illustrated several books by Cynthia Rylant including When I Was Young in the Mountains, a Caldecott Honor Book. She is also the illustrator of President Pennybaker and My Mom is Trying to Ruin My Life, both by Kate Feiffer. She lives in Watchung, New Jersey, with her husband, David, and their dog, Briggs. You can read about her at DianeGoode.com.

Editorial Reviews

Produced by a winning team, this collection of six poems celebrating universal moments in a baby's life (bathtime, first steps, a ride in the carriage) turns on the "awww" factor. Rylant's rhyming verse offers numerous expressions of love ("Baby lovely,/ Baby sweet,/ Baby so divine./ I love your pretty baby face./ Tell me you are mine"). Each poem has its own "title page", e.g., "Baby Teeth" or "Baby Bed," which gives the volume an anthology feel, while a slightly oversize square format makes this an excellent choice for lap sharing. Goode (previously paired with Rylant for When I Was Young in the Mountains) employs a looser line and simpler figures than usual, offsetting the sentimentality of the poems with buoyant, energetic vignettes. She creates a sense of motion with watercolor spot illustrations that flow between the text on the ample white space. Images of the dynamic multiracial cast, paired with the catchy, cooing text, add up to a can't-miss with parents and grandparents-and their babies. Ages 1-5. (Mar.)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS

This collection of six gentle poems, each starring a child interacting with a family member, affectionately describes moments such as first steps, a bath, a carriage walk, and bedtime. The adults, and even a dog, dote on their babies. The activities will be familiar to youngsters, but the rhymes and word choices are sometimes awkward: "A perfect nose,/a perfect mouth,/and extraspecial ears./I love those eyes,/I love that hair,/I love those no-more-tears." Filled with softness and love, the honeyed pencil, watercolor, and gouache illustrations depict an ethnically diverse cast of characters. However, some of the images, overwhelmed by too much white space, look small on the page. Although this is not the strongest work from Rylant or Goode-independently or collaboratively-Baby Face will appeal to fans of Good Morning, Sweetie Pie (S & S, 2001) and is especially well suited as a read-aloud to very small children at quiet times.-Amelia Jenkins, Juneau Public Library, AK

School Library Journal

Six babies populate these six poems, paeans to the momentous events of baby life: first steps, a bath, going out in the carriage, getting teeth, going to bed. Asking, "what shall you chew?" for "Baby Teeth" the narrator notes fondly, "How about some building blocks? / I think you love those most." The verses fall gently upon the ear, and Goode's watercolor, pencil and gouache pictures-squiggly babies and softly hued mamas, dads, grandparents-gambol on white backgrounds. Dogs, cats, toys and favorite blankets also figure prominently. These are definitely baby-rocking rhymes for parents, babysitters or older siblings to read aloud to the giggling bundle of joy in their charge. A few have the potential of memorization with a chance of becoming a familiar family favorite. (Picture book. 0-3)

Kirkus Reviews