Customer Reviews

The Day the Babies Crawled Away

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One day, while the adults are distracted at a picnic, the babies crawl away. The only one who sees them leave is the hero of the story, a child in a fireman's hat. The babies crawl and the child chases. Eventually the babies are rounded up and returned to the parents and the hero gets a much deserved rest.

While the tale is simple, the illustrations add a wonderful dimension to the story. The pictures are done in a silhouette style but with no lack of detail. We see the babies crawl, hide in trees, and other antics. My favorite is the baby with a bow who starts hanging upside down like the bats. In the final scene we see this baby and a parent both hanging from the rafters.

A delightful book with detailed illustrations and fun rhymes. Kids learn that even little kids can be heroes. Check out all of Peggy Rathman's books.

There is no justice in the world. None at all. Ladies and gentlemen I direct your attention this evening to "The Day the Babies Crawled Away". Now this is a tale told entirely in silhouette. It is accomplished and witty, ending with a touch of sentiment that brings an actual honest-to-goodness tear to the eye. And yet what did author Peggy Rathmann win the Caldecott Award for? For the phenomenally less deserving and trite, "Officer Buckle and Gloria". A fine book, but not even a hair close to the brilliance of this, her latest text.

The book begins in the early morning. A fair is being set up next to a group of houses. The narration speaks to the reader.

"Remember the day
The babies crawled away?"

And later...

"Remember the way
You tried to save the day?"

So we follow our protagonist, a boy in a fireman's helmet as he frantically follows five fast moving babies. The boy follows them from the woods, to the swamps, into caves and on ledges. The babies find themselves in perilous situations, and the intrepid young boy must find a way to save them all and get them back home safe and sound. When he returns to the fairgrounds, babies in tow, the grown-ups cheer him soundly. That night, boy and babies fall asleep in their parents' arms after a long and exhausting day.

It sounds cutesy, no question, and it isn't. Not in the least. First of all, technically it's remarkably adept. The silhouettes are so detailed and delicate that you find yourself discovering all sorts of tiny details on every page. Is that Officer Buckle and Gloria on the title page? Is the trophy given to the boy at the end topped with a pie? And how did Rathmann draw an exploding water balloon so well in silhouette? Looking at the babies, you can see that each one is differently drawn. There's the bonnet baby, the baby with one curl, the cornrows baby, the dredlocks baby, and the smallest baby of all that spends almost all of this book upside down. Rathmann uses the silhouette technique to her own advantage at critical times. When the babies collapse as a sleepy pile on top of their boy rescuer, the viewer can only make out a hand here, a heel there, and a wild assortment of perching birds, butterflies, and frogs. As for the text, it really does give credit where credit is due. The boy has saved the babies and as a reward we are shown a scene that touched me deeply. The boy sits on his mother's lap in the fading evening light. His fireman's hatted head is tipped gently towards his mama who is kissing him sweetly. In her hair, a butterly perches and the book says, "You told me your story, I brewed you some tea, then you fell fast asleep in a small pile on me" It's enough to break your heart.

And I haven't even gushed to you about the shifting colors of the day from early morning to the bright light of noon, and eventually the cool colors of twilight. For a book that deals up a healthy heaping of black, this is one of the most colorful (and lovely) picture books out there today. There's something about a story in which a toddler can be the ultimate hero that appeals deeply to children. The adults (incapacitated by a pie-eating contest) are useless here and it is up to a small boy to save the day. Rathmann had always struck me as the poor man's Steven Kellogg until now. With "The Day the Babies Crawled Away", I think she's really come into her own. It is perhaps the most charming toddler empowerment book I have ever seen. More importantly, it is simultaneously witty and beautiful. With so few books managing to be either one or the other, we should be careful to praise the few (like this one) that are both.

I had as much fun reading this as my kids did. But its not just a story, its an I spy game to. We noticed that there is one baby that is upside down on almost all the pages, can you find her? And as the babies crawl after the bees and bats they begin to follow the babies, can you find them? We had many different ages enjoying this book - 2, 4, 6, 8 & 33!
The black shadow drawing lets the kids use their imagination more.

I've owned this book for my oldest daughter's entire 3 1/2 years (got it before she was born) & I'm only now writing a review because I'm shopping for a new copy. The original, 2 daughters later, has been read and read and read to the point 4 of the pages are ripped & taped, there are thumb-smudge marks all over, and the spine is practically off. Needless to say, this (along w/ every other Peggy Rathmann book) is one of their favorites. It's funny and lighthearted but like all Rathmann books the best part is the way she gets your children to practice their powers of observation and association. Patterns are placed for my kids to pick up on, like the little creatures that join the boy on his quest and the curious personalities of the babies (one in particular). Great book!

And to the reviewer who said "I also miss the clues and hidden references to previous books", look in the pages before the title one and you'll find a policeman & his faithful dog (doing one of her classic tricks on another page)...

Rathman, a well-known author/illustrator (i.e., Officer Buckle and Gloria, a Caldecott Medal winner, and Good Night Gorilla) has created an enchanting and irresistible rhyming tale here. A young boy becomes a hero by rescuing and eventually returning a gang of mischievous, runaway babies to their grateful parents. This unique storyline is beautifully brought to life in even more unique illustrations. The illustrations are almost completely done in silhouette. The entire landscape, the young hero, the adorable and troublesome babies, and all the butterflies, birds, frogs, and bats they encounter are all done in black silhouette. But wonderful, lively colors are introduced into the illustrations. All of the silhouettes are set against beautifully colored, wondrous skies. These amazing skies range from a beautiful, blue green sky with puffy white clouds in the beginning to a rainbow-colored, sunset sky to a stunning, purple night sky filled with lively white fireworks. Preschoolers are sure to enjoy the rhyming text and heroism of someone their own age and be captivated by probably unfamiliar artistic method of silhouette. This book is likely to inspire many to try this style themselves. Highly recommended for ages 3 to 10.

I'm shocked that this truly exceptional picture book did not win the Caldecott award in 2004(for the most distinquished American picture book published in the preceding year) or at least get picked as a Caldecott Honor Book (basically a "finalist"). I'm also surprised that there is no indication of other award it won or should have won. For example, it won the 2004 Northern California Book Award award in the Children's Literature category.

I thought this book looked a little bit different. We have many, many books at our house, and something a little different sounded nice. My two year-old LOVES it. She calls it "Babies Away", and asks for it over and over. I think it is the rhyming that she likes most, and when my 7 year-old daughter reads it to her, she will read most of the page, and let my two year old yell out the last word, which of course she remembers since we read it so often..........LOL
We also like the way the pictures are done. My girls don't seem to have a problem with the fact that you don't see much detail...........as a matter of fact, I think it leaves more to the imagination.
This book gets a big thumbs up from me, as well as from my two year old............and I guess I should add that my 7 year-old really enjoys reading it to her little sister(:

My three year old has had this read to her so often it is now memorized. She takes it with her all the time.

Great Book! My nanny charges ADORE it! We read this book daily it's a favorite!

When my little grandson was born on Valentine's Day, this book was one of his first. Even when he was a small infant his mom would read this wonderful tale to him. He was just mesmerized by the illustrations and the rhythm and beat of the story!

Now, at the wonderful age of almost two, this is still one of his favorite books! The story is great fun and is enjoyed by adults too! What I LOVE are the illustrations done in a dark/light silhouette style! It is so unique and different and certainly catches the eye. It is so cool.

This book tells the tale of adults having sooooo much fun at a picnic that they don't even notice when all the babies crawl away and go on their own little adventure! One small child, in a fireman's helmet, follows the babies to protect and help them. It is such fun.

This book is a favorite of our family -- and one that we repeatedly purchase for friends who have children.

Do yourself and any children you love in your life a BIG favor -- buy this book, get cozy, and read, read, read. It will become a family favorite! The day the babies crawled away ~~~~~~~~ !!!!!!

Totally enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Thank you!
Pam

Peggy Rathmann's forte has been her sly/silly humor, primarily celebrating one basic children's behavior-being sneaky. Children lack the power and the authority to effect their environments in more direct, adult ways, so "the sneak" is part of their fantasy play, and an icon that they relate to in books. Her superb evocations of the sneaky in her best stories--the award-winning "Goodnight Gorilla" and "Officer Buckle and Gloria"--are conveyed through text and pictures showing the surprised and deceived authority figures. Rathmann, like her animal heroes, winks her eye at us in secretive, lightly subversive collusion.

I love Rathmann's books, and really wanted to enjoy this one as well. However, while the pictures are fabulous, and more noteworthy than in her previous books (including the Caldecott-winning `Officer Buckle,' the story is not nearly as engaging. If you can take your eyes off the dramatic black shadows stumbling through the forest (the heroic boy chasing after the wayward babies), and focus solely on the plot, you may agree that it just doesn't compare to her other efforts. The rhymed story is fairly routine, although Rathmann writes some terrific lines:

They crawled in a cave-
You cried, "Babies, BEHAVE!"
But the babies loved bats,
So the babies just waved!"

This is followed by the babies crawling over a ledge with a wonderful picture of one safely on a lower ledge, and the other three "who thought they were birds/And got caught on a tree!" The four distinct babies calming but precariously perched in the picture, silhouetted against the bright yellow and blue background with hints of orange suggesting the coming of twilight. Two upside-down bats observing the scene are echoed below by the upside-down baby hanging on the branch of a Seussian tree. This is wonderful stuff. However, the initial wonder of the pictures wears a bit as we see the technique on each page (although the increasingly dramatic sky is masterfully done), and the suspense diminishes once we know the babies are safe. In addition, the rhyming narrative is definitely subordinate to the pictures, and just doesn't seem up to her usual high standard.

"Remember the way
They followed you home that day?
Through the cave and the trees,
On their brave, little knees,
Waving "bye-bye"
To the bats and the bees-
OKAY!
What a day
When the babies crawled away!

I felt like I'd heard a similar story, although more obnoxious, tedious, and louder, in the first "Rugrats" movie. This is an excellent book, and I do recommend it. The illustrations are her best, even if not as funny or intimately sly as in "Goodnight Gorilla." However, the combination of story, humor, and illustration are better in `Gorilla' and "Officer Buckle and Gloria." You really can't go wrong with any of them, though. "The Day the Babies Crawled Away" has the advantages of dramatic, skillful graphics, a large-format, and a human hero with whom your audience may especially relate. If you buy it, please check out her other books as well.