HOORAY FOR BABIES!

A baby bonanza!

As in her earlier collaboration with Marla Frazee, Everywhere Babies (2001), Meyers uses light, rhyming verse to offer a joyful celebration of babyhood. Illustrator Cornelison depicts a diverse group of babies, with a range of skin colors and hair textures, enjoying all kinds of activities, only occasionally with glimpses of adults entering the busy scenes. For the most part, the babies are depicted in idyllic, independent groups; this at times strains credulity, as in a scene in which five babies float in a pool on individual inflatable devices without an adult in sight. Neither text nor art offers a narrative arc, though as the end of the book nears, the busy babies do get sleepy. “We’re tired and we’re hungry now, / It’s time to have a snack. / We’re glad that we’re still baby friends, / tucked in for a nap,” reads the accompanying text. Three spreads follow this one, with the babies now awake and frolicking again. The illustrations are painterly, done in bright colors with an eye to realistic detail. However, the choice to leave adults out means missed opportunities to celebrate same-sex caregiving couples, one of the delightful features of the earlier title. The heavy, card-stock pages will stand up to a fair amount of abuse.

Sweet but not special.