Review by Booklist Review
Mom is taking Baby for a jaunt in her stroller. While Mom is distracted, Baby crawls over to an abandoned skateboard. She climbs aboard, stands up, and speeds away, snatching an umbrella from a picnicking couple as she races past. They join Mom (calling "Sweetie Pie!") in hot pursuit, while Baby swipes a puppy from a dog walker, a giant cone from the ice-cream man, and so on. A growing crowd chases Baby, who finally reaches the skate park. Taking the Mega Ramp at top speed, she launches herself into the sky before floating back down into her mother's arms. Noel's promising picture-book debut combines a witty, well-structured text with clearly delineated, buoyant illustrations. Preschoolers will revel in the barely controlled chaos of the chase scenes and the hilarity of Mom's increasingly lengthy baby talk phrases, concluding with "My itty-bitty, lovey-dovey, teeny-weeny, honey-bunny, cutie-patootie, sweetie-pie!" The happy ending, in which Baby returns and her victims/rescuers celebrate and gather for a group photo, may initially seem somewhat protracted. But keep your eyes on Baby, who uses the time to unbuckle her stroller's seat belt, climb into the police car, start the engine, and (once again) make her getaway, a final twist that's sure to please. Great fun for reading aloud.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Though signs on the opening page foreshadow drama, the narrator's description of events stays obliviously deadpan: "This is Mom. This is Mom's precious little baby. They are in the park together for some good, safe fun." By the page-turn, the baby has crawled away from distracted Mom, found a skateboard, and taken off on her own. With the cumulative energy of the Gingerbread Man, Skater Baby races through the park collecting objects: an umbrella from a picnicking couple, a dog from a dog-walker, a treat from an ice-cream seller, and more. Colorful cartoon art (in tidily patterned panels -- at first) shows each object's owner joining the chase until there's quite a crowd in pursuit of Skater Baby and the lost items -- always with Mom trailing behind, adding new terms of endearment to her ever-growing list: "My itty-bitty, lovey-dovey, teeny-weeny, honey bunny, cutie patootie, sweetie pie!" Meanwhile, the baby is headed straight for the skate park ("Skater Baby is totally rad") and the Mega Ramp. Things look like they could end badly, but a subsequent vertically oriented spread shows the baby coming "back down to solid ground" safely. Not for long! While everyone poses for a celebratory selfie, Skater Baby heads for her next adventure. The buildable details and exaggerated antics lend themselves well to sharing aloud one-on-one or with a group. Julie Roach March/April 2022 p.(c) Copyright 2022. 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.
