I LOVE YOU, BABY

Andreae and Dodd continue to explore family relationships (I Love My Mommy, 2011; I Love My Daddy, 2012) with this look at the towheaded toddler’s love for his new sibling.

The young boy’s adoration for the new addition is obvious from the start. Readers follow the boy and his loving parents as they dress the baby, drive to a pool to swim, get dried off and eat, go for a walk, give the baby a bath, and tuck the wee one into bed. Along the way, the boy counts all the parts the baby has: “two little cheeks on one little bum,” “eight squashy knuckles,” and “one kissy mouth” being just a few. But although Dodd’s signature illustrations are as adorable and child-friendly as ever, not all the body parts counted in the text can be found in the pictures, making this a frustrating read for those eager to point them out to their own loving adults or siblings. For instance, the baby’s mouth is an upward, lipless swoosh, the baby’s head is turned so only one ear shows, and all of the mentioned parts are under a blanket when the baby is ensconced in the carriage. Plus, younger readers may not know chest, ankles, and hips. Children familiar with the other two titles may fruitlessly look for the boy’s purple stuffed duck in every illustration—it only appears in half of them.

For new siblings who are pretty solid in knowing their body parts.