cover image ONE BEAUTIFUL BABY

ONE BEAUTIFUL BABY

Martine Oborne, , illus. by Ingrid Godon. . Little, Brown/Tingley, $14.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-316-06562-7

Oborne (Juice the Pig) adds up (from one to 10) the things that make a baby special in this good-natured offering. Godon's (What Shall We Do with the Boo Hoo Baby?) full-bleed pastels make the most of Oborne's simple phrases, one to a spread. A fine black line on brown paper delineates the baby's activities from the time it wakes up (with "one sweet smile") to its morning bottle (the baby perches on the mother's lap with its "two adorable eyes" open wide) to a walk in the park. Godon works into the illustrations judiciously placed fabric swatches that lend a homey feel. In a spread showing baby at breakfast (where father peels one of "three big bananas"), for instance, she covers the table with a red-and-white checked cloth. The artist even injects some humor into the proceedings: a lichen-green background provides calming contrast as the bare-bottomed baby flings "four clean diapers" from the changing table. Clearly defined objects make it easy for youngest booklovers to count along. Ages 6 mos.-4 yrs. (Sept.)