With some fresh takes on a familiar theme, newcomer Vestergaard captures the nuances of life in this winsome collection of verse. The title poem issues an invitation to "go get your baby, come sit for a while—/ We'll celebrate all kinds of love, baby-style." Several assume an adult's perspective: "Bubble beard drips down your chin,/ Sudsy fingers scrub your skin./ Slippy, slidey, soapy joking—/ Why am I
the one who's soaking?!" a mother asks rhetorically in "Bathtime." A clever double entendre in "His Grace" pictures Baby presiding in his high chair ("Baby sits and watches us/ From his royal chair"), from which he adds the finishing touch to a pre-meal prayer ("As we sit to give our thanks,/ Baby nods and then,/ Soon as Mommy's done with grace,/ Baby shouts 'Amen!' "). Curly ribbons of pink and blue punctuated by baby accoutrements border each of Wallace's (Flower Girl) softly rendered watercolors. Their homey style conveys both the precious and the humorous, as when a cheeky cherub catapults soup across the table at a weary mother: "We are wearing soup for lunch:/ Me a little,/ You, a bunch!" or an adorable infant grimaces with one lower tooth, framed in a wreath of flowers, hearts, crayons and teething rings: "Baby's grumpy,/ Down and dumpy!/ In those gums/ There's something bumpy!" Ending with an exhortation to "spoil those babies with one extra kiss," these snapshots of an infant's endearing moments will appeal to baby lovers of all ages. Ages 2-up. (Dec.)
