Welcoming Babies [Hardcover]

Margy Burns Knight (Author), Anne Sibley O'Brien (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1994 | Age Level: 4 and up

Everyone marvels at babies: parents, grandparents, siblings, even other babies are fascinated by babies! Now available in paperback, Welcoming Babies visits with people around the globe and looks at the diverse ways they treasure new life. Color illustrations.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Every day, everywhere, babies are born. We have many ways to show them we are glad they came into the world." So opens this well-meaning if somewhat artificial round-up of the ways in which people of various cultures celebrate the arrival of a newborn and other childhood milestones. "We Sing," writes Knight as O'Brien shows an African baby being welcomed by the song of women, who, the text tells us, will be joined by other villagers to herald the child's birth. Subsequent spreads reveal a tiny baby in an incubator being caressed by a parent's hand ("We Touch"); a midwife placing a drop of sugar butter onto the tongue of a dark-haired infant "so that he will have a sweet life" ("We Bless"); a christening party for Ricardo, where the guests wear encintados, colorful ribbons with the names of the baby and his godparents; and the first birthday celebration for Ok-hee, pictured in front of a table laden with food ("Those who treasure her gather to wish Ok-hee a long and happy life"). At its best, O'Brien's hazy, pastel art depicts endearing scenarios, but often the images are stilted and unaffecting. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A discussion of the various ceremonies used to greet newborns: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Hopi; Korean, Greek, Nigerian, and Latin American. Most of the methods include singing, kissing, touching, blessing, naming, dedicating, holding, and honoring the infant. Boldly painted, strongly colored double-page pictures in a combination of realism in the foreground and sketchiness in the background show the babies being cherished in special ways by family and friends. The text describes each occasion simply, with helpful amplification given in the notes at the end that identify the cultures and geographic settings represented. The obvious value and beauty of each type of welcome should expand children's appreciation for and understanding of peoples other than themselves and of the joy that new births bring.
Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0884481239
• ISBN-13: 978-0884481232
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,439,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How babies join a variety of families and cultures, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Welcoming Babies (Paperback)

This book will help you teach your child how babies are welcomed into a variety of families and cultures. The illustrations perfectly capture the mood of the text. Recommended for adoptive families and others who wish to increase their child's multicultural awareness. Great new baby gift, too!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for a new parent, January 28, 2009

By 

reader in SF - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welcoming Babies (Paperback)

A lovely book with great illustrations. Everyone is included in this book. My baby was in the NICU in the beginning of life and a baby in the hospital is included, as are different religions, same sex parents, twins and adoption. My fifteen-month-old loves looking at all the babies. I don't know what the Publisher's Weekly reviewer meant when he or she said the images are stilted and unaffecting. I think they are lovely. I think this is a great book to share the magic of being a new parent.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for toddlers, January 19, 2007

By 

hikerjen (MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welcoming Babies (Paperback)

My 18 month old loves this book. She likes all the beautiful drawings of babies and seeing how different people interact with and show their love of babies. It's a great book to teach children how different people and cultures welcome newborns.