Reviews

New York Times Sunday Book Review in the Children’s Books Fall Special Issues, by Jessica Bruder, Nov. 7, 2008: Even the sweetest of babies can harbor a silly streak. The spunky hero of “Such a Silly Baby!” is no exception, stumbling into one goofy situation after the next. During trips to the zoo, the circus, the farm and the rodeo, the baby’s absent-minded mother just can’t keep up with him. She mistakes a different critter for her son on each outing. Then she takes the animal home instead. From the rodeo, she remembers: “We went to see a Wild West show, / and how this happened I don’t know / but there was a hitch / my baby got switched, / and I went home with a buffalo!”

This cheerful romp, written by the ­husband-and-wife team Steffanie and Richard Lorig, features a chant-along litany of animal sounds that gets longer with each new adventure, until the whole noisy menagerie ends up in baby’s bedroom. Amanda Shepherd’s oil paintings splash bright colors and hijinks across each double-page spread, and she scatters small surprises through the book, dressing Mom in outlandish outfits and finding room for a bug-eyed family dog in each scene.

The Washington Post “For Young Readers: Tales of monuments and heroines”, by Mary Quattlebaum, Sunday, July 13, 2008; Page BW12: Some read-alouds invite a cozy cuddle, others call for giggles and romps. Such a Silly Baby! falls in the second camp. In rollicking rhyme, husband-and-wife team Steffanie and Richard Lorig chronicle the adventures of an exuberant tot and his wacky mom. On outings to the zoo, circus and farm, Mom manages to return home with a critter instead of Baby. But Baby embraces each new environment, and Mom soon finds him cavorting in the circus ring, rolling with the barnyard pigs and adding yet another animal sound to his repertoire. Bedtime finds Baby and animal friends snorting, oinking and growling together in “a noisy wild menagerie.” Illustrator Amanda Shepherd ratchets up the fun with vivid colors, a moon-faced Baby and lively animals, including a family dog that appears throughout, like the iconic mouse in Goodnight Moon.

Publishers Weekly: As preschoolers will undoubtedly note with glee, the title of this book should be “Such a Silly Mommy!” After all, it’s Mommy who can’t manage to go on an outing without bringing home an animal instead of her offspring. Whatever the destination, the refrain is always the same: “But there was a hitch…/ my baby got switched,” and clueless Mommy ends up with, say, a chimpanzee, while Baby takes up residence in the monkey house. Baby is always retrieved with the turn of a page, but the spreads give readers plenty of opportunity to savor his briefly unsupervised cavorting in a comic, exotic setting. Exuberant, hand-lettered text practically demands audience participation on the animal noises (“oo… oo… ee… ee…” for the chimps). Paired with this husband-and-wife team, Shepherd (Fiona Loves the Night) illustrates in the Nadine Bernard Westcott vein; she revels in buoyantly hued silliness and goofy visual asides. A firm hand, however, guides these compositions, most evidently in Shepherd’s use of thick, textured fields of color, and readers won’t get overwhelmed.

School Library Journal: The hapless mother in this bouncy rhyming tale just can’t keep track of her silly baby: he gets switched with the chimpanzee at the zoo, with the dancing bear at the circus, with a lazy sow at the farm, and with a buffalo at the Wild West show. Then, when she finally gets the child home for a nap, all the animals follow. The flexible tot makes himself right at home in every new environment, swinging from the ropes with the monkeys, walking the tightrope, rolling in the mud, and twirling a lasso. Each time he greets Mom again, he adds a new phrase learned from his animal friends, for a cumulative festival of animal sounds that storytime listeners will love. Shepherd’s bright, wildly cartoonlike oil paintings perfectly reflect the wackiness of the text. Pair this with Audrey Wood’s Silly Sally (Harcourt, 1992) for a simply silly storytime.

Kirkus Reviews: A perplexed mom has trouble returning home from outings with her own baby in this boisterous debut from Team Lorig. Rollicking rhymes take readers around town as the pair visit the zoo, a circus, a farm and a Wild West show. Each time, though, Mom brings home an animal in place of her baby. “The circus came, I took him there. / We laughed at clowns with funny hair. / But there was a hitch . . . / my baby got switched, / and I went home with a dancing bear!” She returns the next day to swap them back, although by then her baby has picked up the mannerisms of the animal he has been impersonating. Repetitive elements make this a great one for shared reading. Shepherd’s exuberant oil illustrations match the preposterousness of the text perfectly, cleverly building in visual cues to help readers guess what animal might be going home with Mom. A lively flight into imagination-mothers may never look at outings the same way again.

Reading Rockets: “The Big Summer Read Recommended Book List for 0-3 Year Olds”: Everyday is an adventure with a silly baby who gets switched at the zoo, the circus, and other places. When the silly baby is retrieved by mom, that happy child makes joyful noises all the way to bedtime — or playtime! The jaunty illustrations complement the predictable adventure. (Reading Rockets is an educational initiative of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation’s capital, and is funded by a major grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs.)

PINK ME SUPERSTAR BOOKS: Children’s Books Reviewed for Grownups, by the Pink Haired Librarian, August 12. 2008: Such a good storytime book! The happy, friendly, No, David! - esque illustrations will catch their attention. The loping rhythm and repeating structure will have them chanting along with the reader. The cumulative silly animal noises will crack them up. Make up some cross-midline movements to go with all the growling, oinking, and monkey noises, and they’ll be doing algebra before you know it! Who said brain development can’t be fun?! (editor’s note:

Newspaper in Education: “Great books for new moms, babies - Kid’s Home Library” By Lee Littlewood: What’s more adorable than hearing a little baby’s belly laughs? This boisterous new picture book should inspire those giggles, and follows a very silly baby who acts like a monkey after visiting the zoo, and snorts like a buffalo after a visit to a farm… The Lorigs’ rhyming and rollicking text begs to be read aloud over and over again, and Shepherd’s whimsically active illustrations will hook even the tiniest of audiences.

Reading Is Fundamental recommended “Such A Silly Baby” as one of their “Popular Picks” for babies. Parents can encourage reading in many ways, but experts agree that choosing good books is an essential first step. Their booklists are comprised of popular picks—both classics and recent titles—for your baby.