Baby Be

Rocking rhyme accompanies images of mostly bearded caregivers spending time with small children throughout this energetic picture book. The adult-child duos make the most of ordinary places in which they find themselves--on the sofa, at the park, in the store. Together, they experiment with playing guitar ("Your drumming, / my strumming"), pounding on pots and pans in a kitchen ("Your beats./ My treats"), dancing to music played on vinyl ("You show me your drop;/ I'll show you my flop"), and letting loose at a supermarket ("My boogie, / your woogie"). Working in textured acrylic paint, colored pencil, and collage, Qualls (Frances in the Country) portrays the twosomes with various skin tones and hair textures; incorporates kinetic-feeling movement that tracks with the text; and includes background bubbles, stars, and wafting ribbons that seem to represent music and sound. In equally energetic words, McGhee (World So Wide) celebrates unconditional love, not just for an infant's actions or potential, but for their existence in the present moment. Singing, yelling, and dancing, each adult hints, it's all "already perfect to me." Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Sara Crowe, Sara Crowe Literary. Illustrator's agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Oct.)

Baby-Toddler--Qualls's outstanding textured, mixed-media illustrations perfectly complement McGhee's rhyming and rhythmic affirmation of all that is baby. A diverse cast of male-presenting caregivers are shown enjoying time with their babies while doing a variety of activities--cooking, dancing, jamming on pots and pans and guitar, and giving high fives. Collage work using a variety of papers, including text-print with an overlay of what look like gelatin plate-printed textures in blues, yellows, pinks, and purples add grit to this joy-filled world while snappy wordplay--"your beats, my treats" and "your grand plié, my petit jeté"--will keep baby's ears as happy as their eyes. This is a perfect baby/toddler story time read-aloud that lets babies of every race and age know that they are perfect for just being. Tender and loving, without a hint of sappy. VERDICT Highly recommended for all collections.--Hillary Perelyubskiy