Behold! A Baby

by Stephanie Watson, Joy Ang (Illustrator)

Overview

In this picture book with audio, a loving father reveals a baby's fantastic feats (smiling, eating a banana, babbling) that cause adults to go insane with joy and wonder. The only audience member who remains unimpressed? His big brother.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619636644
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Stephanie Watson is also the author of the picture book, The Wee Hours, and the middle-grade books Elvis&Olive and Elvis&Olive: Super Detective. She studied writing, dance, and theater at Sarah Lawrence College. She now lives in Minneapolis with her daughter, Ivy and many imaginary friends.

www.stephanie-watson.com
@StephEWatson

Joy Ang is a freelance artist who has illustrated the picture books I Will Not Read This Book and the forthcoming Mustache Baby. She is a graduate of Alberta College of Art&Design. She lives in Edmonton, Canada.

www.joyang.ca
@JoyAng
Joy Ang is a freelance artist who has illustrated the picture books I Will Not Read This Book and the forthcoming Mustache Baby. She is a graduate of Alberta College of Art&Design. She lives in Edmonton, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

Amusing with its obvious spoof of proud parents' gushiness over everything a new baby does.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Warm and affirming. . . Could lead to discussions about how to be a big brother/sister helper.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2015
K-Gr 2—In a story told almost entirely in speech bubbles, a father stands on stage touting, announcer-style, the incredible milestones of a baby while an admiring audience ooohs and aahhs. Only big brother is unimpressed—he can do all of the same things and no one cares. It shouldn't come as a surprise that big brother turns out to be the only one who can translate for the crying baby or that once he gets to share the spotlight, he begins to see the baby as a brother and partner instead of a competitor for attention. Digital cartoon artwork features large headed characters with oversize mouths—perhaps to go along with the speech bubbles? The end scenes depicting what big brother can do with little brother are warm and affirming and could lead to discussions about how to be a big brother/sister helper. Libraries looking for more books on new babies might try Caroline Jayne Church's I Am a Big Brother (Scholastic, 2015) or Kathi Appelt's Brand-New Baby Blues (HarperCollins, 2009). VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries needing more books about adjusting to a new sibling.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA

School Library Journal

2015-03-03
Step right up, folks, and witness…a besotted dad touting the world's most extraordinary phenomenon—a baby. While awestruck emcee Dad extols the baby's amazing, never-before-witnessed talents before a live audience—accomplishments include smiling, eating a banana, and babbling—older brother grumbles "Big deal" from the cheap seats. Not to be outshone by a mere infant, he shows off what he can do: he eats two bananas simultaneously and trumps the baby talk with a song. The spectators are underwhelmed. Then the baby utters something incomprehensible, and even Dad and the audience take a breather from oohing and aahing. What can this new mouthful of gibberish mean? "Duh. So obvious," says big brother—and translates to the wonderment of all. After that, guess who takes center stage and realizes the little tyke isn't such a scene-stealing, attention-grabbing bore after all—plus has big plans for a new performance featuring "BROTHERS"? The story is mildly amusing with its obvious spoof of proud parents' gushiness over everything a new baby does. Adults will get the stage shtick; little kids, not so much. This is a nice addition to the crowded field of titles about older kids cottoning to their new siblings, but except for the theater angle, it doesn't really offer much that's fresh. The flat, digital illustrations are lively and expressive; the characters' large mouths will evoke smiles. Ecce yet another picture book that shines a spotlight on the older kid who decides that it's OK for babies to be stars. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews