THE WORLD IS FULL OF BABIES!

Subtitled ``How All Sorts of Babies Grow and Develop,'' this is an overview, in simple text and softly colored drawings, of the universal experiences of infancy that humans share with other species: gestation, birth, crying, sleeping; being carried, cleaned, and fed; learning to walk (or swim or fly), explore, and play. The creatures range from butterflies to whales, all wearing happy expressions as they go about their business of growing up. It's a book likely to stimulate questions, particularly about the birth process or some of the odd animal behaviors mentioned. Pair this with Ann Morris's The Baby Book (1995), which depicts a similar range of activities among human babies in full-color photographs, or Ron Hirschi's A Time for Babies (1993), which looks at wild animal offspring. (Picture book/nonfiction. 3-7)