FICTION

The Perfect Baby

978-1-40522-755-1.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1—Lucy has a new brother and she does not like him at all. He cries, sleeps, and emits disgusting smells. She tells her parents that she wants them to return him to the hospital, and they reluctantly do so. Once there, a jovial doctor exchanges William for a series of ever larger and more inappropriate babies, such as a monkey, snake, octopus, and something very, very scary. There can only be one ending to this endless set of trades, and that happens when Lucy finally asks for her own brother back. The final exchange will be obvious to adults, but young children will both empathize with Lucy and laugh at the incongruous trades. The book's silliness extends to the smallest details in the illustrations—boxes teetering high in the hospital have eyes peering out of them and danger signs plastered across them. However, there is a crossness to Lucy that makes her a little prickly. Many children with a new sibling will be comforted by the story, and may even appreciate their own new arrivals after reading about Lucy and her search for the perfect baby.—Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ

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