This book deals with the arrival of a new baby in the home of a toddler. It is written from the toddler point of view, in a nicely-paced rhyme, and the rhythmic text is accompanied by amusing pictures of family life with a baby in the house. The family members are represented by cats, but who dress and act (walk on two legs) as people. The opening line sets the tone “Where did that baby come from, and can we take it back?”. The toddler ponders the source of the baby (did it float in on a wind? grow in the garden? bought in a shop? picked up at the zoo?), its purpose (“all it can do is pee and poo”) and the wisdom of keeping it (“is it just a weed”?). Emotional readers, beware of the lump in your throat when the toddler, having unloaded his frustration at this baby, consoles it by patting it through the bars of the cot, and when he reacts to the baby’s laughter! The book ends by referencing the young of all living creatures on the planet and maybe helps the toddler put his situation in perspective in terms of the world around him.
Categories: New Baby
Where Did That Baby Come From?
The book reflects the frustration of the toddler in a sympathetic way at the presence of a new sibling and the pictures present plenty to talk about and laugh at with a young child as you go through the tale.
Author: Debi Gliori
Illustrator: Debi Gliori
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Review by: Daire McGovern