BABY BUSINESS

With tongue firmly in cheek, Cuetara catalogues a toddler’s world into 24 activities, from “Waking” to “Bedtime,” “Crawling” to “Swinging,” expressing “Brotherly Love” to “Snacking”: “Gum and string and bits of wax— / Gaby sees them all as snacks. / Mom and Dad have heart attacks. / Hungry little baby.” Simply drawn cartoon illustrations above each jaunty verse depict children of various ages and skin tones happily (for the most part) going about their “business.” Bands of color frame each poem and picture and a monochrome sketch in the corner aims at the adults who will recognize the joke. So, “Visitors” suggests that Aaron doesn’t give a hoot if Mommy has company—“Demanding little baby”—and in the lower right-hand corner sits a light-green crown. “Crawling”: “Speedy little baby” and two checkered racing flags. Parents of under-threes will laugh with recognition as they share this wry, affectionate, pitch-perfect tally from the author of Terrible Teresa, and Other Very Short Stories (1997). (Picture book. 2-4)