#BabyLove: My Social Life

In Dehghanpisheh’s modern and unconventional take on the bedtime story, one baby is the subject of a social media storm.

Being a baby isn’t what it used to be. Just ask the protagonist of #BabyLove. His predecessors got to laze around, eating, sleeping, and doing baby things. But this infant is surrounded by social media–savvy adults just waiting to catch his latest adorable antic and share it with the world. Whether it’s breakfast time (#goodMorning), reading time (#bookworm), eating, sleeping (#afternoonroutine), and even during playtime (#happyBaby #noFilter), most illustrations are depicted from the perspective of the screen. The perspective of the screen works well—as do the hearts, stars, likes, and hashtags that adorn each image (supposedly showing how many people have interacted with it). This constant attention isn’t always easy for one baby to handle. But that’s why there’s bedtime—a period of the day reserved just for Mom, Dad, and Baby…at least until Mom snaps the #BestShotOfTheDay. The simple illustrations—a small, roundheaded baby, an adorable dog, and a multicultural cast of friends and family—are endearing. There is an easy cadence to the book, which is written in rhyming couplets; e.g.: “All day long, phones are out / Trying to capture my famous pout.” The baby’s antics are amusing, and equally amusing are the adults’ reactions to them, spread over the Web. The concept will certainly be one only adults can grasp, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially with bedtime stories, which tend to be read over and over again.

A charming modernization of the traditional bedtime tale.