In this first picture book by Ontario YA author Sarah Withrow (author of Bat Summer, The Black Sunshine of Goody Pryne, and others), sweet and goofy couplets capture the loving wordplay that parents enjoy with their babies. We witness the astonishing range of moods a little one expresses in a single day. Withrow begins playfully with “Be a birdie, Baby./Be a lonely loon,” then leaps into silliness with “be a bowl of pudding and/I’ll eat you with a spoon.”

As the day goes on, Baby is a banana-munching monkey, a siren, a whirring fan, and more before the tired mother gently begs for a gentle breeze for “poor old rained-on me” and cradles Baby in her arms for a nighttime lullaby. It’s a similar message to that of Virginia Miller’s Bartholomew Bear series, in which big George tells grumpy Bartholomew, “Ba, I love you just the way you are.” Here, although it might be more fun when Baby is a dancing flower or a big-vroom motorbike, we don’t love her any less when she’s more like a tired tree or a cloud in the sky.

Creamy pastel drawings by Mexico-based illustrator Manuel Monroy employ a bold graphic style, mixing smooth colour with patterns; unusual contrasts and angles; and a palette that contrasts rich brick red, banana yellow, and aqua blue with soft, delicate greys and neutral tones. The effect is quite beautiful.

 My two-year-old said “baby” as soon as he saw the cover of this book – just as promised on the jacket, babies really do love books about babies. Parents will get equal pleasure from this enchanting book for its emotional honesty, sweetly stylish artwork, and the buoyant cadence of Withrow’s loving poetry.