cover image Silly Baby

Silly Baby

Judith Caseley. Greenwillow Books, $12.95 (24pp) ISBN 978-0-688-07355-8

Lindsay's mother is pregnant, and all this only child can say is, ""Silly baby.'' When Callie arrives and makes messes all over the place, Lindsay feels left out and is satisfied that her initial reaction was the correct one. It's not the baby or Lindsay's parents who finally change her mind about the baby: Lindsay sees pictures of herself as a baby and realizes how very silly she was, too. Caseley's inclusion in the ever-growing body of displaced-sibling literature is distinguished by her pink-patterned wallpapers, merry border prints and boldly checked windowsills. It's a world in which the mother looks plump and weary after the birth of her baby, and where learning that there is no longer room on a lap is a very rude shock indeedbut one that can be smoothed away and forgotten. Ages 4-up. (March)