Baby Clown

by Kara LaReau, Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)

Overview

An award-winning author and a Caldecott Medalist introduce an adorable new circus star — who won’t stop wailing!

When Frieda and Boffo Clown have a baby, everyone in the circus is over the moon. But there is just one problem: Baby Clown won’t stop crying! Frieda and Boffo try everything: putting on their silliest faces, driving him around in their tiny car. They even try taking off his red nose and big shoes. But that just makes Baby Clown cry more. Can Frieda and Boffo turn his little clown frown upside down in time for the sold-out show? Kara LaReau deftly juggles wit and warmth in this hilarious nod to parental persistence, while Matthew Cordell’s big-top-bright illustrations bring Baby Clown and his circus family to humorously frazzled life. Older siblings, in particular, will step right up to this applause-worthy picture book, joining Baby Clown in many a heartfelt “WAAAAH!”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763697433
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.63(w) x 11.13(h) x 0.41(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kara LaReau is the author of many picture books for young children, including Ugly Fish and Otto: The Boy Who Loved Cars, both illustrated by Scott Magoon. She is also the author of the chapter books The Infamous Ratsos, The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid, and The Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy, all illustrated by Matt Myers. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Matthew Cordell is the Caldecott Medal–winning author-illustrator of Wolf in the Snow, as well as many other books, including King Alice and Wish. Matthew Cordell lives in Illinois.

Editorial Reviews

01/27/2020

LaReau’s absorbing problem-solving tale offers a funny look at grown-ups stymied by a very small human. Baby Clown cries all the time, and loudly. Boffo and Frieda Clown, his harassed parents, are stuck; nothing they try works. “WAAAAH!!!” spreads across the pages, the visual equivalent of infant screams radiating through space. “There is no room for crying in my circus,” says Mr. Dingling, the big boss. The two performers wear their clown costumes and makeup even when they’re at home, which adds hilarity to their earnest diaper changes and bedtime routines. Frieda’s multicolored wig and Boffo’s electric blue hair are drawn by Cordell (Explorers) at his antic best, in scribbly spreads filled with expressions of comic dismay, false cheer, and misery. LaReau (the Infamous Ratsos series) narrates in straightforward prose, using repetition to good effect: “The trapeze artists tried./ Then the animals tried./ Even the wire walker tried./ But still, Baby Clown cried.” Fortunately, it turns out that Baby Clown has a natural bent for performance. Even clowns may find themselves rearing a fussy child, but all is not lost: communities can pitch in, and children can find their way. And when all else fails, try thunderous applause. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

In the grand tradition of Marla Frazee's The Boss Baby (2010), Kate Beaton's King Baby (2016), and others, a pair of overwhelmed new parents navigate their infant's attempts to communicate...Both amusing and endearing; caregivers and close acquaintances of newborns will feel seen—and heard.
—Kirkus Reviews

Geisel Honor Book author LaReau's understated text highlights the frustrating mysteries of early infancy, leaving Caldecott Medal winner Cordell to reveal the situation's inherent humor. Using ink and watercolor, he portrays the characters as suitably goofy (the performers wear costumes and makeup throughout), while still remaining human in their desperate attempts to comfort their newborn...Families with colicky younger siblings will no doubt recognize this behavior, and look forward to a hopefully quieter future.
—Booklist

Even clowns may find themselves rearing a fussy child, but all is not lost: communities can pitch in, and children can find their way. And when all else fails, try thunderous applause.
—Publishers Weekly

Full of silliness to enjoy in both art and text, the story may resonate on another level with families who have known the struggle of settling a screaming infant.
—The Horn Book

Cordell’s scribbly ink and watercolor gives the characters lanky, exaggerated features and the circus a wild, quirky backdrop to Baby Clown’s colicky behavior; in spite of the silly setting and events, older siblings will recognize the struggle Baby Clown’s parents face as they attempt to tamp down Baby Clown’s incessant tears.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

2019-12-08
At the Dingling Circus, "a STAR is born"—but how can he dazzle the audience when he won't stop crying?

In the grand tradition of Marla Frazee's The Boss Baby (2010), Kate Beaton's King Baby (2016), and others, a pair of overwhelmed new parents navigate their infant's attempts to communicate. Boffo and Frieda Clown feed and burp Baby Clown, change his diaper, juggle for him, and even ask their fellow circus performers to entertain him in hopes of ending his wailing. Cordell's characteristically loose ink-and-watercolor illustrations brilliantly evoke Quentin Blake's Clown (1996), with large oval eyeballs and expressive mouths and hands. The clown parents' dramatic features are further exaggerated as they experience dismay, frustration, and abject despair (in one spread, Frieda lies on the floor in the fetal position while Boffo, on his knees, begs Baby Clown to be quiet). All efforts to cheer the tot fail, but the show must go on: The sold-out crowd (depicted in shades of sepia) is eager to see Baby Clown—and their eagerness results in an unexpected solution! The clowns' makeup is paper-white, and Baby Clown has a shock of brown hair and light-colored hands; "big boss" Mr. Dingling is the only character with distinctly brown skin.

Both amusing and endearing; caregivers and close acquaintances of newborns will feel seen—and heard. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews