The Caldecott Honor Medal winner Hello Baby! begins with the question, "Who are you?" Does your little one know who they are? Let's find out! Each page has a large image of a new animal presented through the unique media of paper-cut illustrations against an all-white background. The colors range from earthy tones of animals like the eagle and elephant, to bright contrasting colors for the gecko. Some of the animals, such as the owl, seem to be textured and will certainly encourage touching from readers. The large font presents sentences that rhyme from one page to the next, and also introduce a few new words for your child, like 'porcupine', 'wielding', and 'hilarious'. Located near each section of font is a smaller silhouette of the animal being described.
Your child will likely giggle when you pose the ridiculous questions on each page, "Are you a monkey with clever toes" or "Are you a warthog, hilarious and hairy?" However, they will have to know and understand what each animal is in order to know they are NOT that animal. They can feel each page, ask questions about that animal, repeat any words, and even compare their 'paw print' to the life-size child's hand on the first and final pages. You can add to the fun and ask your little one which sounds each animal makes, which one they like the best, or which one they like the least.
My friend, Talmadge, loves to imitate each animal as we read about it. His favorite is, "the hippo with yawning jaws." The third time we read this book, Talmadge was being silly and decided to answer "yes" when I asked, "Are you a zebra, sipping a drink?" I stopped reading there and we went to the kitchen for milk, as Talmadge insisted he should lap milk from a bowl "like a zebra would."
--Audra
