From Publishers Weekly
Schwartz (Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner) presents the ups and downs of life with a new baby-and, with comic implausibility, allows the baby himself to narrate. He speaks frankly of his tyranny ("I know how to get anything I want"), his likes and dislikes ("I like to eat when the sun hasn't quite risen yet and then again when I decide to really get up... and then again when it's still and dark and me and Mom are the only ones up. Except for Dad"). His pleasure in being the center of attention percolates throughout his low-key but highly amusing recitation. Less overtly stated but just as palpable is the closeness within the baby's family and their joy at his arrival: their warmth and wonder spill over even to strangers (upon hearing that his young visitor is but two weeks old, the guard in the botanic garden comments, "Ahhh, and already he's seen the forsythia"). Schwartz's pitch-perfect ear and her comedienne's timing find visual expression in her upbeat, inviting gouaches. With her vignettes of exhausted but proud parents, cooing admirers and, of course, the world-is-my-oyster infant, she paints an affectionate and very funny portrait of a newly expanded family, one sure to be appreciated and enthusiastically revisited. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-"I'm a teeny tiny baby and I know how to get anything I want." So begins an infant's hilarious narration of his many needs and pleasures. His loving family gladly complies with his desire to be jiggled, tickled, patted, burped, etc. After getting a tour of the apartment in the wee hours of the morning, he enjoys the outdoor life in the parks and playgrounds of Brooklyn, New York, along with many other places around town where Mom, Dad, and Grandma have to stop. Although he appreciates compliments and questions from the new people he meets, he takes exception to the big kid who comments on his lack of hair. A highlight is his list of when he prefers to nurse. The final series of illustrations shows his groggy mom carrying him (screaming) to the bathroom mirror, where he becomes progressively calmer and finally smiles at his reflection. Everyone who has had a baby in the family will respond to the gentle humor in Schwartz's gouache paintings. They invite readers into this child's secure and stimulating world, where responsibility for his care is shared by both parents. An excellent introduction for expectant siblings-and parents.
Lisa S. Murphy, formerly at Dauphin County Library System, Harrisburg, PACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.