The Boss Baby - Marla Frazee

Beach Lane Books, 2010
$16.99
32 pages
ages 4-8
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Pink with plue and pink rattles and jumping toys racing around the page

Cute cute cute...the perfect gift for any pregnant couple.

Boss Baby runs the show, demanding immediate action at all times. The illustrations, showing the exhausted parents and the demanding baby - and activities like "spa time" (in a bubble bath) are all hysterical.

This is not a cutesie baby, this is the bossman. (I actually wish he weren't quite so homely. Oh well.) And the way she's done the illustrations - showing lots and lots of lines, giving tetures and depth and added interest to the drawings - is delightful. (It says they were "rendered in black Prismacolor pencils and gouache on a 2-ply cold press paper." )

This is a super book.

Just Like You - Marla Stewart Konrad

Illustrated by Lin Wang
Zonderkidz, 2010
$15.99
24 pages
For: Parents of new babies and all young children
Rating: 4.9
Endpapers: Gentle pale drawing of the world with different types of homes - it's almost foggy, and looks like it's a scroll unrolling....

"On the day you were born, I looked in your eyes, cuddled you close, and knew the world would never be the same. I counted your fingers and toes, whispered in your ear, and sang you a lullaby."

"On the day you were born, baby Mei Ling was born in China. Her mommy looked in her eyes and cuddled her close. She counted her fingers and toes, whispered in her ear, and sang her a lullaby."

We visit newborns in the Amazon, in Russia, in the Arctic and in Egypt, in southern Africa, India, and Australia. We see who comes to visit, what they bring, and what the world outside their doorstep looks like.

The illustrations are absolutely lovely. Lin Wang is a native of China who now lives in California. She is an illustrator to watch. Her full-page paintings are just perfect for this book. Mmmmmm.

The last two pages bring in the concept of God. This is wonderful for all the families in the world that believe in God, but would not be entirely welcomed by those who do not share those beliefs. I have just ordered three copies of this book to give to three pregnant couples I know. I plan to glue together these last two pages on one of the copies, because I know that particular couple will feel more comfortable with the book. This is why I haven't given this book a 5. It's a tiny drawback, but one I feel I must tune in to.

"Zonderkidz is a proud supporter of World Vision, dedicated to helping children in poverty worldwide.....In celebration of the publication of Just Like You, Zonderkitz is donating $10,000 to World Vision...."

Note: Another book I read recently that deals with a newborn arriving and how very special that makes everyone feel is All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan.