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A BABY’S COMING TO YOUR HOUSE! by Shelley Moore Thomas

A BABY’S COMING TO YOUR HOUSE!

by Shelley Moore Thomas & photographed by Eric Futran

Pub Date: March 1st, 2001
ISBN: 0-8075-0502-1
Publisher: Whitman

In this smart, sassy preview of life with baby for the preschool set, Thomas (Somewhere Today: A Book of Peace, etc.) serves up her home truths about new babies with a liberal dash of wry humor. She covers the gamut of babyhood, from Mommy's ever-expanding tummy to the mountains of paraphernalia required for one small being. The prose is snappy; brief no-nonsense sentences tell it like it is. "Sometimes the baby will make loud, crying noises that are not so sweet. Get used to the crying." Thomas offers readers a balanced view of infancy; there are the requisite tales of the horrors of dirty diapers (her recommendation: "Sometimes it is a good idea to go outside when the baby starts to smell, just to be safe") and a compassionate acknowledgment of a new sibling's conflicted emotions that reassures readers of their parents' continued love. The book ends on an affirming note: having covered the cute, the smelly, and the noisier aspects of babyhood, the author focuses on the wondrous things readers can impart to their younger siblings. Futran's colored photographs resonate with the slant of the text. Candid pictures of babies, small children, parents, and families of all combinations interacting together, reflecting the myriad emotions expressed, are alternately humorous and touching. The layout has plenty of eye-appeal, with the text appearing in brightly colored blocks surrounded by photographs of various sizes. Worldly-wise preschoolers will appreciate this honest appraisal of what is to come. (Picture book. 3-6)