WELCOME, LITTLE BABY

A mother lovingly welcomes her newborn in this handsomely designed book. Speaking directly to her baby, a mother tenderly recounts the child's present needs "". . .to eat, to sleep, and to feel warm. . ."" and goes on to describe the new experiences the baby will have. The simple text captures the anticipation new parents feel about introducing the world beyond the nursery to a baby, and there is a charming spontaneity to the delicate watercolor, crayon, and ink illustrations, rendered in baby pinks, greens, blues and yellows. It is doubtful whether the infant audience addressed by the book will appreciate the content, but new parents and family members educated to the values of early read-alouds will want to try this along with more traditional verse; it does have the comforting tempo of a lullaby.