A book of babies

Il Sung Na

Book - 2013

While baby animals are born--some with fur and some with scales, some with lots of brothers and sisters, some with none--a curious duck watches.

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jE/Na
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Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jE/Na Due Apr 9, 2024
Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
New York : Alfred A. Knopf [2013]
Language
English
Main Author
Il Sung Na (author)
Edition
First American edition
Item Description
"Originally published in a slightly different form in Great Britain by Meadowside Children's Books, London, in 2013"--Copyright page.
Physical Description
1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 26 cm
ISBN
9780385752909
9780385752916
Contents unavailable.
Review by New York Times Review

The killdeer chick who narrates this cheerful book is a chipper fellow. From the moment he hatches, he's on the move, learning about himself and his world. "These legs just want to run-run-run!/First thing I'm learning?/Running's fun." His Narcissus moment, when he discovers his reflection in the farm pond, is particularly sweet : "I've studied me, and oh, my word./I am one amazing bird!" Corace's ink-and-watercolor illustrations suggest he's not just preening. NEST Written and illustrated by Jorey Hurley. 40 pp. Paula Wiseman/ Simon & Schuster. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) Hurley's silk-screen-like images of American robins building nests, hopping away from curious cats and gathering red berries show the influence of her work in textile design. Each scene illustrates a single word ("snuggle," "feast," "hatch"), making it good practice for young readers. The rich, flat colors and stylized pictures, which hint of Marimekko and William Morris, are certain to please aesthetically-minded children and their adults. SAY HELLO LIKE THIS! Written and illustrated by Mary Murphy. 32 pp. Candlewick. $12.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) In a companion to "A Kiss Like This," chicks, puppies, foals and other young creatures greet each other with enthusiasm, mooing and woofing and flapping and clucking as if they had just arrived at a barnyard cocktail party. Sturdy, glossy pages show the animals eyeing each other with friendly interest; flipping vertical flaps reveals the beasts in the midst of their raucous hellos. Murphy's rich pastel washes and thick, painterly black outlines give "Say Hello Like This!" a prettiness that's matched by an exuberant typeface new readers should enjoy deciphering. The book may make you think of the nicest possible greeting card, which in a way, it is. A BOOK OF BABIES Written and illustrated by II Sung Na. 24 pp. Knopf. $15.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) If the Seoul-born artist Il Sung Na hasn't already charmed you with "Hide & Seek" and "A Book of Sleep," his latest book, with scenes of animal families in their native ponds, African savannas and Arctic ice floes, will probably do the trick. Wide-eyed parents gaze lovingly at their feathered, furry and scaly babies in what may be a slightly sweetened version of, say, reptile life. But reality has its say when a herd of candy-colored sea horses emerge from their astonished daddy's pouch. CUCKOO! Written and illustrated by Fiona Roberton. 40 pp. Putnam. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 2 to 5) Hatched among birds of a different feather, Cuckoo bravely goes "in search of someone who could understand him." The plot is a mite familiar - in children's books, it's not unusual to be born, as Andrew Solomon puts it, "far from the tree." Roberton's illustrations, though, are totally her own. Drawn with pencil-sharp precision, Cuckoo is an irresistibly cute, roundbodied little bird with a jauntily striped belly and a resilient attitude. What family wouldn't want him in their nest? ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.

Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [February 23, 2014]
Review by Booklist Review

In this vibrant picture book, spring brings the birth of baby animals, beginning with noisy ducklings. One of the parent ducks leaves its mate and their hatchlings in the nest and goes off to observe other animal families throughout the day. The text draws contrasts between the baby animals shown in the pictures. Some have many siblings, while others have none. Some can walk, but others are carried. Some ride in their mother's pouch, others in their father's. Some are furry, while others are scaly. It's all a bit fanciful, as the animals observed include zebras, sea horses, and polar bears. With just one sentence or phrase on each double-page spread, children can spend as much time as they like absorbing the content, searching for the duck in each picture, and enjoying the colorful springtime scenes. Defined by sweeping black lines, the forms of animals, trees, and plants appear in pleasingly varied compositions, enhanced by digitally collaged painted paper elements that add color, texture, and decorative patterns. A pleasant spring read-aloud choice.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

"When the flowers begin to bloom and the world starts turning green, animals everywhere are born... including the noisy ducklings." A mother duck whose brood hatches all at once sends the father duck off to look at other animal infants. He dives underwater to view fish babies ("Some have lots of brothers and sisters"), waddles on land to see zebras ("Some can walk right away"), and flies over ice floes to look at polar bear cubs ("some are born with soft, warm fur"). There's a guessing game implied, too: the names of the animals aren't given, so readers must supply them. Na's (Hide & Seek) spreads mix textures and patterns like a series of quilts, punctuating fields of bright color and bold shapes with arabesques and filigree. A fixed horizon line gives the pages the feeling of an unspooling scroll. The golden light of afternoon turns into the orange of sunset as the babies prepare for their very first night ("babies everywhere need their rest"), and the sleepy ducklings settle down, too. Language, tone, and images all combine to create the gentlest bedtime entertainment. Up to age 3. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Children are taken on an entertaining, duck-led tour in springtime and given insight into the first day in the lives of eight diverse animals. The babies highlighted have distinct differences right from the start. Some are "only children," while others have many siblings. Some can walk immediately, others cannot. On each beautifully colored spread, the parent of five new ducklings at the book's beginning shows readers the differing capabilities of the other newborn offspring. Na's signature, intriguing illustrations are a delight to peruse with their handmade painterly textures and digitally generated layers. Creatures from Africa, Australia, the Arctic, and the ocean commingle happily and share in the joy of new life.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI (c) Copyright 2013. 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

Whimsical mixed-media illustrations picture a duckling observing animal babies' differences and similarities: fish have multiple siblings, zebras walk at birth, some are carried in pouches, and others are covered with scales or fur, but all sleep at day's end. The story is soothing, but that the duckling is omnipresent across varied habitats and climates (under the ocean, polar regions, etc.) may strike viewers as odd. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Spring arrives, and a neighborly duck leaves his own nest of ducklings to greet new animal babies far and wide. He pops up in unexpected locales, observing infant fish, monkeys, zebras, lions, kangaroos, sea horses, polar bears and lizards--all snuggling with mommies and daddies in their habitats. Children never cease finding pleasure (and embedded reassurance) in domestic scenes brimming with love, which this cozy book provides in spades while also offering up some zoological facts in wonderfully plain language. Every double-page spread highlights differences in animal baby characteristics: Some babies arrive alongside their siblings, some come solo, some ride in their mommy's pouches, some nestle in their daddy's, some can walk right away, some get carried around, some have fur, and some have scales. Undulating rainbow colors, circular patterns and fibrous textures swirl across leaves, animal bodies and sky, creating a lively natural world. Here's evidence that digital tinkering can yield richly layered, cohesive artwork that captures the kaleidoscopic beauty of the animal kingdom, its shadows, lights, colors, textures and shapes. Night falls and finds all the newborns ready for sleep, nudging little readers to shut their eyes too. Sweet, stimulating illustrations offer up baby basics for bedtime. (Picture book. 2-4)]]]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.