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Summary
Summary
Atinuke and Angela Brooksbank, creators of the award-winning Baby Goes to Market, pair up again for a bright and beautiful first book of words.
B is for Baby. B is for Brother. B is for going to see Baba!
One morning after breakfast, Baby's big brother is getting ready to take the basket of bananas all the way to Baba's bungalow in the next village. He'll have to go along the bumpy road, past the baobab trees, birds, and butterflies, and all the way over the bridge. But what he doesn't realize is that his very cute, very curious baby sibling has stowed away on his bicycle. Little ones learning about language will love sounding out the words in this playful, vibrantly illustrated story set in West Africa.
Author Notes
Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author who started her career doing traditional oral storytelling. She is the author of Baby Goes to Market, which was named a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book and an Africana Best Book. Her other books include a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor winner, an International Reading Association Notable Book for a Global Society, and a Cybils Award winner. She lives in Wales.
Angela Brooksbank , a former designer and art director in children's book publishing, is the illustrator of Baby Goes to Market . She lives in London.
Reviews (7)
Publisher's Weekly Review
As they did in Baby Goes to Market, Atinuke and Brooksbank include readers in the book's antics while leaving out the characters who surround Baby. Pictures tell the story alongside minimal text that introduces B words (baby, beads, basket). After Baby tumbles into a basket of bananas bound for Baba's bungalow, Brother, plugged into his headphones, replaces the basket's cover and loads it onto his bicycle, oblivious to its additional cargo. Subtle visual foreshadowing gives kids a peek at upcoming words as the boy pedals along: one of the birds seen perched in a baobab tree appears at close range on the following spread ("B is for Beautiful"), which also displays a baboon-filled tree in the background ("B is for Baboon"). A page later, one of the monkeys snags the top off the basket, exposing its stowaway passenger and paving the way for the big reveal to a shocked Brother and thrilled Baba. Featuring loose lines and an earth-toned backdrop, Brooksbank's energetic mixed-media art showcases the brilliant colors of African vegetation and clothing, and infuses Atinuke's sweet phrases with warmth and humor. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Atinuke and Brooksbank (Baby Goes to Market) reunite for another tenderly funny slice-of-life story set in an unspecified African village and starring a winsome baby girl, who is dearly loved. This alphabet book sticks with the letter B, with B being for baby, beads (cradled by her mother, the girl gets beads put in her hair), and then an intriguing woven basket with a lid. When the little girl peeks inside, B is for banana and breakfast, as a sequence of pictures shows her overbalancing into the basket and then settling in happily. B is also for Brother, a supremely oblivious and carefree older sibling wearing headphones and grooving to his music as he loads up the basket onto his bicycle, never noticing his baby sister inside. Spacious off-white pages set off the people in the mixed-media illustrations, with shadows to add depth and an almost tactile feel; the style changes to full-bleed pictures as Brother rides along past abundant bougainvillea, birds, and a bus full of interested people. Brooksbank uses warm colors, from the bright beads in Babys hair to the green-striped shirt that their Baba (grandfather) is wearing when Brother finally delivers his basketwith a surprise inside. Brava for Baby! susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
This clever story puts the focus on the letter B. In fact, it's the key element that moves the text. In an unspecified African village, we meet a baby whose mother is putting beads in her hair. B is also for basket; this woven one is to be brought to Baba by Brother, filled with bananas for this grandfather's breakfast. But what readers see, and Brother does not, thanks to his headphones blocking out any sounds as he rides to Baba's, is that Baby has crawled into the basket secured on the rear of his bike. Along the way, Baby spies birds and butterflies and gets a biscuit when finally discovered by a surprised grandfather. A miniature panorama on the final page shows the trip home. The children's mom doesn't seem pleased by the adventure. Each page displays one terse sentence, such as "B is for beautiful." The colorful mixed-media art, however, is expansive, whether showing a single image of a curious baby playing with her toe, or detailing the lush surroundings. This one's a charmer.--Ilene Cooper Copyright 2019 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
These books give babies a generous helping of their erv favorite subiect: themselves. BUSY BABIES Written and illustrated by Amy Schwartz Building blocks, removing socks, with their mamas, in pajamas - almost anything you can picture a baby or toddler getting up to makes an appearance in this casually rhyming book. The result is a clever catalog of baby life, featuring a pleasing array of families of all backgrounds. Schwartz ("A Teeny Tiny Baby") gives babies lots to stare at, and grown-ups may find themselves just as delighted by her exquisite illustrations. Her delectable babies have big heads, small features and even smaller feet and hands, and they wear outfits of detailed perfection. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages Oto 3) ? IS FOR BABY ByAtinuke. Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. Who needs the whole alphabet when one letter can tell a story as entertaining as this one, set in a colorful, lively West African village? "B is for baby," of course, but each page adds a "B" word as the baby girls brother rides his bicycle to visit their Baba - grandpa - in his bungalow. Turns out the tyke has stowed away in a basket of bananas, making for a funny, happy reunion. Atinuke and Brooksbank ("Baby Goes to Market") have created an appealing package of rhythmic repetition and vibrant images. 40 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 5) YOU ARE NEW Written and illustrated by Lucy Knisley "When you're new," asks this delightfully assured debut children's book from the acclaimed graphic novelist Knisley, "what can you do?" The comforting answers explain a baby's world to her ("You can fit in tiny spots / You get carried quite a lot") while also preparing her for adventures and challenges ahead ("You might not know just want to do ... / That's O.K. when you are new"). But it's the memorable digital art that makes this book a true standout - the sweet-looking babies who crawl and traipse through these pages have a refreshing hint of comics-style edge. 42 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) ANIMAL BABIES LIKE TO PLAY By Jennifer Adams. Illustrated by Mary Lundquist. The animal babies in this adorably drawn alphabet book include a bunny, a jaguar and a quail. They play with jacks and go fishing. They build with blocks and bake pie. Its simpler than it sounds - they are all babies, wearing zip-up animal suits. As Lundquist ("Cat & Bunny") works through the letters, she also delivers a low-key message that playing is fun by yourself, and also with friends. Eagle-eyed babies might even spot Zebra hiding in the background of other letters' pages. 32 pp. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 5) BABY DAY By Jane Godwin and Davina Bell. Illustrated by Freya Blackwood. Birthdays come once a year, but the excitement around them lasts ... possibly forever? Accordingly, this clever book about a first birthday party can be enjoyed any old day. Adorable babies tumble, squawk and dribble their way to the festivities. Cake time comes, the crowd begins to melt down, and the birthday kid is on to a bath, story and bedtime. Blackwood's loose pencil lines and brushy bright colors lend a lovely naturalistic look. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) UP UP UP DOWN Written and illustrated by Kimberly Gee Opposites loom large for babies, and Gee brings the concept to adorable life. Her action-packed visual vignettes refreshingly feature a brown-skinned baby and caretaker dad who dramatize the obvious ("no" and "yes") and the more subtle ("yay" and "uh oh"). Her touch is feather-light, with many telling details to spot. 32 pp. Putnam. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) HOORAY FOR BABIES! By Susan Meyers. Illustrated by Sue Cornelison. The pages of this celebration of baby life teem with tiny friends of every stripe, doing baby stuff together. With the little ones collectively narrating ("We raise our sippy cups up high and give a baby cheer") and practically no grown-ups in sight, Meyers ("Everywhere Babies") and Cornelison ("Lost and Found Cat") have created a buoyant mood of baby-centric fun. 32 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $14.99. (Ages 0 to 3) READ TO YOUR BABY EVERY DAY Edited by Rachel Williams. Illustrated by Chloe Giordano. This treasury of 30 classic nursery rhymes runs through the standards - Old Mother Hubbard, Humpty Dumpty - including many you'll be tempted to sing, like "The Muffin Man." Williams keeps old-fashioned words ("I saw a ship a-sailing") but pares down some longer verses to just one stanza, to fit a baby's attention span. Best of all are Giordano's illustrations, done in heart-stoppingly delicate embroidery. 32 pp. Frances Lincoln. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.
School Library Journal Review
Toddler-PreS-"B is for Baby" is the first and last line of this entertaining story of a baby girl, her brother, a bicycle, some bananas, and a big surprise. Highlighting words that begin with the letter "B," and with only four words per page-except for one spread-a simple story emerges that will engage small children and be accessible, with a little help, to early readers. In an unspecified African village, a mother gets her very young daughter dressed and ready for the day. She sends her son off with a basket filled with bananas to share with his grandfather. Unbeknownst to the boy, his little sister has fallen into the basket and is along for the ride to Baba's bungalow. The tale takes readers forward and then reverses the steps as the boy returns to his mother with his sister in tow. Illustrations in mixed media are large and bright with a white background. Animals, trees, flowers, and the inhabitants' dress reveal a bit of village life. VERDICT This tale offers eye-catching colors and a clever and fun way to introduce the "B" sound while telling a story.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Guardian Review
Migrating hummingbirds, a chick at the circus and runaway robots getting into trouble Readers of eight and up are spoilt for choice this month. Dancing the Charleston (Puffin), from the perennially popular Jacqueline Wilson, is set in the 1920s and features clever, precocious Mona, who lives with Aunty, dressmaker to the lady of the manor. When Lady Somerset dies, their position becomes precarious - until her ladyship's scandalous artistic son takes a fancy to them. Wild glamour, class conflict, buried secrets and a cameo appearance by Hetty Feather are all delivered with Wilson's inimitable, intensely readable flair, interspersed with Nick Sharratt's cheery illustrations. Runaway Robot (Macmillan) by Frank Cottrell-Boyce is a comic and compelling tale set in a near-future filled with automated buses and dust-hog street cleaners, uproariously illustrated by Steven Lenton. After losing his right hand in an accident, Alfie is unwilling to return to school. Passing time truanting at the airport, he discovers Eric, a courtly, one-legged robot, and smuggles him home. But humanoid robots have just been banned, and Eric could get Alfie into terrible trouble - or possibly help him find his confidence again. Judith Eagle's debut, The Secret Starling (Faber), is a riveting adventure with all the right ingredients - a wicked uncle, a spirited young heroine, a mysterious ballet shoe and a sinister villain. Clara has always been home-schooled by her horrible Uncle Edward, but when he vanishes leaving only a wodge of cash, it's up to Clara and her new friend Peter to solve the mystery of his disappearance, and to save Clara's creaky, crumbling home from being sold. Vivid and atmospheric, Eagle's writing grips the reader throughout, enhanced by Kim Geyer's chapter-head illustrations. For five and up, The Climbers , the latest in Stripes's range of colourfully illustrated fiction for new readers, is a gentle yet soaring story from Ali Standish, with intense, transporting illustrations by Alette Straathof. Alma's uncle has forbidden her from exploring the forest - but one night she finds a lost bear cub there, and befriends it. Driven away by the townspeople, Alma must find a place where she and Star Bear are welcome. Slightly older readers interested in conservation will devour Isobel Thomas's This Book Is Not Rubbish! (Wren & Rook), illustrated by Alex Paterson. Thomas writes in a can-do register with an underlying note of steel, laying out exactly why prompt environmental action is necessary, but emphasising the steps children can take - plastic-free birthday parties, washing up in one bowl of water - in a way that prompts enthusiasm rather than despair. From Darkmouth author Shane Hegarty comes the comically lovable Boot (Hodder), a younger-feeling robot story that has cheerful, slightly Pixar-esque illustrations by Ben Mantle. With echoes of the films Wall-E and Toy Story , it follows the eponymous Boot, a toy robot possessing only two and a half memories and a precious pendant, on its quest to find its owner, its past and its home. In picture books, there is a lush, seductive feel to Nell and the Circus of Dreams (Oxford) by Nell Gifford, founder of the real-life Gifford's Circus, with fabulous illustrations by Briony May Smith. When Nell finds a lost chick in the farmyard, it leads her to the dreamy wonder of the circus: rich smells, red velvet and the glamorous excitement of the ring. Everything in this book is beautiful, from Nell's intricate toys to sunlit meadows full of flowers. There's more jewel-bright beauty in Hummingbird by Nicola Davies and Jane Ray (Walker), an imaginative look at avian migration that walks an elegant line between fiction and non-fiction. As migrating hummingbirds delight sailors, students and curious children, Ray's gorgeous illustrations are interspersed with delicate titbits of information. Also from Walker, Atinuke's B Is for Baby , illustrated with enormous charm by Angela Brooksbank, is a delightful play on the ABC book concept. In this tender west African adventure, all the words begin with B, as we travel by bike to see Baba with a basket of bananas, past baobabs and baboons, and loop back again to Baby, cuddled safely in her mother's arms. Finally, Grumpycorn (Scholastic), from bestselling author-illustrator Sarah McIntyre, is a colourful send-up of aspiring writer Unicorn, who needs his special fluffy pen and moonberry tea before he can write. Dismissing his friends' attempts to inspire him, Unicorn succumbs to writer's block; perhaps Mermaid, Jellyfish and Narwhal can help after all? McIntyre's latest story is splendidly silly, and crammed with delicious underwater food. Teenagers roundup The Gifted, the Talented and Me by William Sutcliffe, Bloomsbury, £7.99 When Sam's family becomes rich, he and his siblings change schools to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented. Freya and Ethan thrive, but Sam is too normal to fit in. Will auditioning for the school production of The Tempest change anything? Refreshingly hilarious, with an Adrian Mole flavour and a down-to-earth protagonist. Yay! You're Gay! Now What? by Riyadh Khalaf, illustrated by Melissa McFeeters, Quarto, £9.99 An engagingly designed how-to for young gay men. Everything's here, from frank discussion of bodies, sex and shame to contributions from notables such as Stephen Fry and Dr Ranj Singh. Khalaf's parents also contribute their advice - his father in particular is honest about his initial dismay and gradual acceptance. Meat Market by Juno Dawson, Hachette, £7.99 When Jana is scouted, modelling seems a great chance to earn money for tuition fees. But the industry's darker side soon manifests itself: weight-shaming, lack of support, and failure to protect the vulnerable. Dawson has a gift for writing believable teenagers characters, and Meat Market is a powerful counterweight to light-hearted literature that still portrays modelling as the stuff of dreams. The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods by Emily Barr, Penguin, £7.99 Arty has lived all her life in a matriarchal commune in a southern Indian forest, but when illness breaks out she has no choice but to leave. Trying to find her feet in the modern world is alarming - especially when she inadvertently becomes an online celebrity. Do the people on her tail want to imprison her, or help her? This is a pacey, original thriller.
Kirkus Review
A circular tale of family love with visual rewards for sharp-eyed listeners. In this story that looks like an alphabet book but focuses exclusively on the letter B, a smiling woman, probably mama, stands in a yard, holding Baby cheek-to-cheek, as another woman chats with four children under the awning of a small tin-roofed house in the background. Many visual details hint at this book's African (probably Nigerian) setting. After Mama Beads Baby's hair, Brother loads a Basket of Bananas onto his Bicycle while bopping to the beat of what's playing through his headphones, oblivious to everything elseespecially the fact that Baby climbed into the Basket to have a Banana for Breakfast. On the road, he passes a Baobab tree, Birds, a Butterfly, Baboons, a Bus brimming over with brown-skinned riders crossing a Bridge, and more sightsfew of which Brother notices. Nothing, however, escapes the keen eyes of Baby. Only when Brother lifts the Bananas from the Bicycle rack does anyone discover the stowaway. A surprised Baba happily welcomes both grandchildren, who join him for Biscuits and bottles of something bubbly. Brooksbank effectively avoids stereotypes while adding humor and cultural specificity to the story with her detailed and lively, colorful, mixed-media images. Safety-conscious caregivers may suck their teeth, but there's no denying the joy in this book.Atinuke has bottled the delightful energy of the Anna Hibiscus books and poured it into this treat for younger readers. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.