Review by Booklist Review
PreS. This pithy story, illustrated primarily in black and white, catches the excitement of a new baby in the house. White, free-form animal characters set against pure black backgrounds share the news: a baby has arrived. "I saw the baby! Did you see the baby?" the fish asks. Well, yes. The chicken has fed the baby; the butterfly has sung to it; the ant even tickled it. When the mouse asks the duck if it has kissed the baby, the duck answers, "Of course . . . my own amazing baby." On the next two spreads she kisses the bright yellow duckling again, causing it to "Quack! Quack! Quack!" This is simplicity itself, and it is perhaps surprising that Murphy wrings so much emotion out of bare-bones graphic art. But she does, and her book crackles with love, exhilaration, and even sweetness. Everyone will want to kiss this baby--or their own. --Ilene Cooper
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With an animal cast so elated that they seem on the verge of jumping into readers' laps, Murphy (How Kind!) offer indisputable proof that a newborn is one of nature's most powerful mood enhancers. A fish leaps for joy: "I saw the baby! Did you see the baby?" "Yes!" a wide-eyed heron-like bird exclaims. "I saw the baby, the teeny weeny thing." More pairs gleefully compare notes in rhythmic prose about feeding, tickling or serenading the baby, and Murphy's bold, silhouetted characterizations-popping like flashbulbs out of alternating backgrounds of black and white-make it clear that everyone has come away energized from their infant interaction. A band of a single solid color (chartreuse, fuchsia, sienna) on the top, bottom or side of each spread injects additional pizzazz. The happiest animal of all: the baby's mother, a duck. "Of course I kissed the baby, my own amazing baby," she tells a hopping mouse. The feathered mother then turns to her adoring yellow offspring (the first color introduced into the main composition) to kiss her duckling once more with a huge "Ppfffwah!" (an onomatopoeia made even more memorable thanks to Murphy's own coltish typography). The high-contrast pictures and exclamatory text are guaranteed eye and ear magnets for littlest ones. Even skeptical new siblings will get a kick out of the animals' unbridled enthusiasm. Ages 2-5. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-The animals are overjoyed about the new baby in the barnyard, and it's all they can talk about. "Did you see the baby?" they ask one another. "I sang to the baby!" "Did you tickle the baby?" When a tiny mouse asks the duck if she kissed the baby, the duck replies, "Of course I kissed the baby, my own amazing baby." And the newcomer finally makes its appearance. Murphy makes creative use of color on the edges of the black-and-white pages, until the duckling appears in a splash of vibrant yellow, and the text changes to hot pink. This is an ideal book for little eyes and ears, for text, illustrations, and design meld perfectly to capture the excitement of welcoming a new arrival.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) In big, bold images and a bright, rhythmic text, the animals welcome a baby with great enthusiasm: ""'I fed the baby! Did you feed the baby?' 'Yes! I fed the baby. What a hungry little one!'"" The singsong exchange is surely suited to the youngest listeners, and the large pages, all black and white but for a single rim of color on one edge, may even catch the eye of an infant. The pattern breaks when the baby--a duck--eventually makes an appearance, lit in glowing yellow on the black page and rightfully commanding the final spread for a ""Quack! Quack! Quack!"" Just enough and not too much for a very first read-aloud. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The excitement of a new arrival is proclaimed loudly and by all: "I saw the baby! Did you see the baby? Yes! I saw the baby, the teeny weeny thing." Then, "I fed the baby! Did you feed the baby? Yes! I fed the baby. What a hungry little one!" Set on solid black or white backgrounds, the words are in big, splashy letters of the opposite color as are the simple, graphic animal figures, one to a page: fish, squirrel, ant, bird, frog. A thick edge of bright color oozes along one edge of each spread. Finally the duck says, "Of course I kissed the baby, my own amazing baby." Her little duckling is in bright yellow; her mother's kiss "Ppfffwah!" in glowing tea rose, with little pink hearts. This is ebullient and adorable, and its clear, broadly articulated forms make it a natural to read to toddler groups and--as advised--by the person holding the new baby. Also useful for youngsters who might need a little push to greet the new sibling with enthusiasm. A knock-out in design and concept. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
