BABY SHOWER

Babies rain down from the sky and play together before meeting their families.

Baby shower takes on a new meaning when babies, who range in skin tone, float down from the sky, using umbrellas as parachutes. These rounded, happy figures—some in cute patterned onesies, others in solid colors—aren’t newborns but appear to be about 6 to 14 months old: They sit, crawl, babble, hold hands, reach, roll, toddle, and even jump. There is one set of twins, and one baby wears glasses. Simple rhyming text, delightful to read aloud, describes the babies’ activities, with a refrain of “Babies here! Babies there! / Babies raining everywhere!” Each page is full of babies—and teddy bears and dogs—but no adults appear until the penultimate spread, which answers the question, “Why did they come? / What could it be? / Who did each baby come to see? // They’re here to meet their family!” This double-page spread depicts a racially diverse group of families: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. This one is a strong candidate for baby or toddler storytimes as well as for sharing one-on-one. For families expecting a younger sibling, this whimsical take would pair well with Alison McGhee’s poetic World So Wide (illustrated by Kate Alizadeh, 2020) or Sophie Blackall’s more factual The Baby Tree (2014). (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An adorable, silly, heartwarming rhyme celebrating babies and the joy they bring to their families.