Baby! Baby!  by Vicky Ceelen  (2008)

A slightly oversized board book with no words and funny pictures.  Each spread has an animal on one side and a baby opposite, and in each case the baby’s pose or expression mirror’s the animal’s.  A sleepy child with a sticking-out tongue is paired with a yawning lion, also showing her tongue and a seated gorilla sits in the same way that the baby opposite does.  They’re very cute, but also interesting to talk about, asking kids to identify what the photos have in common and also possibly talking about the animals (Narrative Skills).  The baby photos make it a good choice for Tiny Tots and Toddlers, but I’ve had fun using with preschoolers too.  The author’s Baby Nose to Baby Toes (2009) is similar…she adds rhyming text this time, which I think is not as effective as wordless, but the photos are just as clever.

- Steven Engelfried