Love Song for a Baby

From Publishers Weekly
"Come hear a song about a baby,/ a very special baby./ Come hear a song about you," begins this heartfelt ode to a baby's first experiences. Bauer's (My Mother Is Mine) simile-laden, simple verses boast songlike rhythms, always ending with the phrase, "we loved you" (e.g., "When you came into our arms,/ slippery as salmon,/ puckered as prunes,/ loud as a lion,/ already we knew,/ we loved you"). Andreasen (A Quiet Place) in perhaps his most intimate work yet, creates oil paintings that soften the baby's features in a series of cascading parallel lines to form an almost impressionistic view of the child. After Bauer extends the invitation with the opening lines, the artist shows a toddler clearly the baby at the book's center poised as if about to hear about his or her babyhood. In the next spread, Andreasen shows the father placing his ear on the mother's very expectant belly; he then uses succeeding illustrations to portray the baby's development, from smiling newborn to endearing toddler. Feathery and heavy brush strokes add texture to paintings that exude an antique quality with their ruddy hues and creamy, pale pink matte borders. The accoutrements of infancy (blocks, pacifier, bib and booties) appear in vignettes beneath each text block to complement the facing illustrations. With its warm words and joyful portraits, this accessible volume will be a favorite among young listeners. Ages 1-5.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
reSchool-K-The bright-eyed wonder of babies is fully captured in this loving tribute graced with outstanding illustrations. Each page is a close-up of a single Gerberesque infant whose gradual growth is subtly re-created. The paintings are highly textured; visible brush lines create a sense of movement, of vibrancy just barely contained. The sensation of what it feels like to hold a baby, to touch one, radiate from the page, a joy that adults will surely relish remembering. Children may not have such a visceral reaction to the art, although they will sense the magic. The narrative is framed by an older child who is asked to "Come hear a song about a baby,/a very special baby./Come hear a song about you." This title celebrates all the things parents do with an infant, the snuggling, the clapping, the drying of tears. And why? Because "we loved you," a phrase that is repeated at the end of almost every stanza. This may not be a book that youngsters will ask for again and again, but whenever they're in need of comfort or reassurance, it will relax all defenses.Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
PreS-K. Two parents call their young child to "come hear a song about a baby, / a very special baby. / Come hear a song about you." The text of Bauer's beautiful poem appears on one page, with spot art of baby's things (blocks, bath toy, pacifier, etc.). On the facing page is a realistic oil painting of the baby, almost like a photograph in an album. The paintings are stunning; some are headshots of baby awake and smiling; others show baby sleeping. As baby ages over the course of the book, the message is always "we loved you" and "we love you." The text is quiet but powerful: "You burst upon our world like a comet, / like birdsong / in the silver silence of dawn, / and how could we help / but love you?" A good book to pair with Sam McBratney's Guess How Much I Love You (1995). Kathy Broderick
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Come hear a song about a baby, a very special baby. Come hear a song about you. This affectionate tribute to the all-encompassing love of a child will touch parents' and grandparents' hearts at the same time that it satisfies children's requests to tell them about when they were little. Best-selling author Marion Dane Bauer's lyrical text and award-winning illustrator Dan Andreasen's timeless paintings combine to create a gift of love -- for parent and child alike. And oh, how we love you!


About the Author
Marion Dane Bauer is the author of a number of picture books and novels, including the New York Times bestseller My Mother Is Mine; Grandmother's Song; If You Were Born a Kitten; Sleep, Little One, Sleep; and On My Honor, which was named a Newbery Honor Book. She is one of the founding faculty of Vermont College's Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults program. The mother of two and the grandmother of five, she lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.


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The lyrical verses of this tribute to all the things there are to love about a baby, begins as a mother tells her young son about his earliest days. Tiny hands, perfect toes, rounded features, and even burps become beautiful when viewed through a parent's loving eyes. Text accompanied by a small illustration faces each full-page painting of the cherubic baby. From a portrait of the expectant parents, through the newborn weeks, to the first hesitant steps of the toddler, this follows the development of one small boy. The mother relates to her young child all the things that there were to love about him as a baby. A final painting features the family in an embrace. An expressive baby full of grins and bright eyes beams out from each oil painting. Parents and grandparents alike will recognize the shy smiles, impish looks, and proud grins. Unfortunately, the uninspired text seems a bit too icky-sweet for even the most tearful young mother. Instead of being simply repetitive, it quickly becomes droning. Fortunately, the beautiful illustrations need no addition for them to shine. (Picture book. 2-5)


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