cover image Superbabe

Superbabe

Deborah Vanderbeek. Putnam Publishing Group, $9.95 (27pp) ISBN 978-0-399-21507-0

Disconcerting problems accompany having an infant superhero in the house. ""He unties our shoelaces,/ pulls out my drawers./ He empties Mom's handbag/ to play with her keys,/ And takes all the tissues,/ for only one sneeze.'' From an older sister's perspective, Superbabe's activities are beyond earthly measure; the family can ignore much of the havoc but goes into action when the baby is quiet for too longa sure sign of trouble. This is a blithe look at babies, with a breezy rhyme to read aloud and illustrations crammed with genuinely baby-like touches. Ages 2-6. (February)