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Babies Don't Bite by David Bedford and Tor Freeman (view source)
Revision as of 13:06, 6 February 2012
, 13:06, 6 February 2012no edit summary
The story works nicely being both about new babies as well as having a counting aspect to it since each group of babies that Hegley meets counts down from ten to, finally, his one baby sister. I liked Hegley's excitement about the new baby, even in the face of his friends' overwhelming grumpiness about the upcoming births! I did sense, however, that there is some misleading going on in the story since babies ''do'' have a tendency to pull hair from time to time, and I've known a few to bite as well, so although reassuring I'm not sure the story is entirely truthful! I also didn't really like the wording on the final page where it reads ''babies are fab''. I know it's a very common contraction, but I would have preferred the full 'fabulous'.
The illustrations are fun, although it helps if you don't mind farm animals wandering around in human clothes - I know a few friends who wouldn't enjoy this story because of that! But I personally liked all the little baby animals in their romper suits, and some of the illustrations reminded me of [[:Category:Richard Scarry|Richard Scarry's ]] style of illustrating. Hegley's friends all look wonderfully teenager-ish, slumped and grumpy over the news of their new siblings! I also really love the picture of Hegley's mum sitting in an armchair with her feet (hooves!) in a pair of cosy looking socks and a mug of tea at her side!
It's definitely worth borrowing from the library as a fun read, but there are other excellent books about new siblings that you might prefer to buy so have a look first and see what you think!