Beastly Babies

Marc Notes: Introduces all sorts of mischievous baby animals--and the grown-ups who love them no matter what--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: A simple rhyming text celebrates some shared characteristics of baby animals. Jackson catalogs a variety of animal offspring ("Babies can be smooth or hairy, / quail or whale or dromedary") and their behaviors: "Tiger babies pounce and fail / when they aim for mama's tail"; "Baby buffalo get grumpy. / Baby kangaroos get jumpy." The rhymes have a brisk quality that will keep the pages turning. Wenzel's bright illustrations, "rendered in almost everything imaginable," will grab the attention of small listeners. The wild profusion of young creatures, leaping, tumbling, and running as animal parents hover and peer from foliage nearby, is hilarious. All have round eyes and a kind of manic look, on the stern side for the parents (perfect in the cranky protectiveness of the mama tiger) but ready to go and full of spark for the babies.... The unspoken reassurance--all babies are loved--is there, along with the important affirmation that growing up is both a little bit messy and a little bit chaotic. Toddlers may especially relish their status as creatures slightly older than babies while enjoying the affectionate tone of the text and art. Lots of fun.--Kirkus Reviews "May 1, 2015 " Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2015 (EAN 9781442408340, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 05/04/2015 (EAN 9781442408340, Hardcover) School Library Journal 06/01/2015 pg. 84 (EAN 9781442408340, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2015 pg. 40 (EAN 9781442408340, Hardcover) Booklist 06/01/2015 pg. 108 (EAN 9781442408340, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Contributor Bio:  Jackson, Ellen Ellen Jackson is the award-winning author of more than fifty fiction and nonfiction books for children. Like her father, an amateur astronomer, Ellen has been interested in planets, stars, and galaxies since she was a child. She remembers family "star parties," at which neighbors were invited to gaze through her father's telescope at an eclipse of the moon or other astronomical objects. Contributor Bio:  Jackson, Ellen Ellen Jackson is the award-winning author more than fifty-five fiction and nonfiction books for children, including "The Mysterious Universe" (a Golden Kite honor book) and "Earth Mother" (which garnered three starred reviews.) She lives with her husband and dog in Santa Barbara, California. Contributor Bio:  Jackson Ellen Ellen Jackson is the award-winning author more than fifty-five fiction and nonfiction books for children, including "The Mysterious Universe" (a Golden Kite honor book) and "Earth Mother" (which garnered three starred reviews.) She lives with her husband and dog in Santa Barbara, California. Contributor Bio:  Wenzel, Brendan Brendan Wenzel's illustrations often explore the natural world and our relationship to it, and he made his picture book debut with "Some Bugs" by Angela DiTerlizzi. He lives in Coxsackie, New York.