Baby Says [Library Binding]

John Steptoe (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 1988 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Baby wants what babies always want: to get big brother's (or sister's) attention! "The author-artist depicts the tender, caring relationship of an older brother for his baby brother. The experience is universal....Fresh and appealing."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After the elaborate illustrations and intricate story-telling of Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters, Steptoe's latest is remarkably simple. The baby of the title speaks with actionsflinging a bear out of the playpen is a nonverbal way of getting an older brother's attention. The child is persistent and soon manages to escape from the pen, with help from the increasingly irritated brother. But the baby continues to make trouble, knocking down the brother's building block project. All is forgiven, though, thanks to the baby's winsome smile. The text is minimal, all "Uh-oh," "Okay," "No no," etc. Despite Steptoe's sensitivity to issues of importance to children, this particular concept, hardly more than a sweet moment between siblings, seems stretched to fit a full-size picture book length. A board book format (and price) may have suited the idea more aptly. Ages 6 months-2 years.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1 Steptoe returns to the themes of his earliest bookssimple family interactions. Here, a brother tries to construct a building block castle while his play-penned baby brother does all he can to upset the process, including using a teddy bear as a weapon of disruption and destruction of the castle. Big broth er's anger is quickly melted by a sponta neous hug and kiss from baby brother, who then joins in rebuilding. Text is mini mal. The story is told through the softly shaded warm-toned pencil drawings. Steptoe is a master at depicting emotions in expressive faces, especially those of children. The effect here is softer and more evocative than in some of his earlier works. The incident portrayed is ex tremely simple, yet so true to childhood sibling experience, making this book as universally appealing and well-crafted as folklore. It is also heartwarming and re freshing to see such a loving exchange between two brothers. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, Wis.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (April 20, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688074243
• ISBN-13: 978-0688074241
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,120,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exquisitely illustrated book for toddlers, September 15, 2004

By 

Kara Reuter (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby Says (Library Binding)

Baby Says portrays two brothers in a playroom, a toddler in his playpen and the older child playing with blocks nearby. The toddler wants to play with his older brother and seeks his attention by repeatedly throwing his teddy bear out of his playpen. When the older child indulges his brother, the toddler immediately knocks over his brother's block construction. When his older brother expresses his frustration, the toddler smoothes things over with a kiss. The story is told in a toddler's vocabulary, employing only seven words in a few phrases: "uh oh," "no no," "okay baby," and "here"; many pages are wordless. With such simple language, the action of the story is carried by the very realistic pencil drawings done in soft colors. The illustrations are primarily tightly cropped views of the space in the playroom that the children occupy, but as the story reaches its emotional climax, the illustrations shift perspective to extreme close-ups on the children's faces. This book is often considered a multicultural book because the children in the book are African-American, though ethnicity is not at all the subject of this story. Toddlers (and siblings of toddlers) of any ethnicity will relate to this simple story about the warmth of a sibling relationship. This is an excellent book for toddlers and older children to read together.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A winsome book for pre-readers, rife with ad-lib possibilities, September 29, 2010

By 

kzturtlegirl (desert SW, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baby Says (Library Binding)

This nicely illustrated book has been the source of many hours of laughter as my kids and I would make up stories to go along with the simple dialogue. Baby may say only a few words, but he must be thinking all sorts of things that you can put into his mouth. We've run the gammut from silly skits with ravenous teddybears to some serious discussion about how best to handle an annoying sibling. By virtue of its minimal text and paintings full of expression and hidden motives, it opens up the imagination of the child (and parent).

Definitely one of our favorite afternoon reads.

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift for a four-year-old boy with a new baby brother., July 28, 2011

By 

Nancy K. Mcintyre - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Baby Says (Library Binding)

A child can read and understand this book by virtue of the illustrations, alone, but it has nice, large print and simple text, as well. It's a little story about sibling conflict and love. It's a tender and realistic view, not a bit sappy. It was well-received by a boy who thought that only babies get noticed, now. He liked it, and he "read it" to his baby brother. John Steptoe knew about being human, and knew how to communicate the complexities that humans face, especially those faced by children.

Children deserve sturdy bindings. This edition is nice!