Babies Celebrated [Hardcover]

Beatrice Fontanel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

Even in these increasingly homogenous times, there is still a remarkable amount of variation in the ways infants are cared for. This work travels the globe to reveal how the babies live in a range of places and cultures. Photographs coupled with interviews with specialists in the various societies, reveal details of life in Sioux, Manchu, Patagonian and many other communities. In five sections covering bathing, clothing, carrying, sleeping and family, this work offers an introduction to child-rearing traditions around the world. The authors have also written Abrams' "Babies: History, Art, and Folklore".

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Don't let the title mislead you. This is not another gathering of cute baby photographs. It is instead a stunning visual survey of the ways in which babies in traditional cultures (in the Americas, Asia, and Africa, primarily) are fed, dressed, carried, and treated. Fontanel and d'Harcourt (who also collaborated on Babies: History, Art and Folklore, 1997) provide informed, sympathetic captions to extraordinary photographs depicting such things as babies being ritually massaged; wrapped in swaddling cloths; adorned with pigments and dressed in often brilliantly colored ritual clothes to bring good fortune; carried, in baskets, net bags, and slings, on backs and in the arms of siblings or parents; and fed. Several points are inescapable: in traditional cultures, babies go where their parents goto the fields, to market, on visits. They are present almost from birth in the essential routines of these cultures. And in more traditional cultures babies are more immediately and closely integrated into society, with a greater variety of family and friends assuming some responsibility for care and protection. The range of cultures depicted (from the Kayapo of the Amazon to nomads in Tibet) is wide, and the photographs sharp, brilliant, and fascinating. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810940124
• ISBN-13: 978-0810940123
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #878,975 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Babies, November 7, 2001

By 

Luann Udell (Keene, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babies Celebrated (Hardcover)

I value this book, not as a treatise on child care around the world, but for the exquisite photography of babies, beautifully adorned by their loving families. The text is interesting, but bare-bones support for the amazing images of infants and children from around the world. Babies from Mongolia, Tibet, China, Australia, the Arctic circle etc. are featured, being held, carried, rocked, bathed and nursed. Their faces are hauntingly beautiful. So are their clothing and toys. Such exotic accoutrements as strips of fur, twisted grass, glass and amber beads, feathers, leather and cloth are featured. This book provides aesthetic inspiration and a visual feast for the artist in me, as well as emotional connection with the endearing subjects!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All around the world...oh so different, yet the same, October 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Babies Celebrated (Hardcover)

This book really is an eye opener to learning about birth and rituals around the world. Even if not a word had been written, the page after page, beautiful pictures of families and babies are just wonderful. It takes us out the "the norm" we are used to with our own culture, and into many other ways of life. It reminds us of the big world we live in, we all do things a little different, yet we are all sharing a common bond, humanity. This book is highly recommended for excellant photography and is an excellant teaching guide for all.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Babies, in all cultures and situations, January 13, 2005

By 

KristiMetz "Seeking the Answers" (Wichita, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Babies Celebrated (Hardcover)

How do people all over the world bathe their babies, or carry them, or swaddle them? This book will show you. Beautiful pictures for cultures all across the world! Babies, babies and more babies being swaddled, carried in slings, and just generally loved by their parents and families.

The photography is stunning and the perspective it gives you is wonderful!

A fantastic book for new or expecting moms, especially those expecting their first baby (they're always fascinated by baby pictures and stories)!