Where’s Baby?
written and illustrated by
Anne Hunter
Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Penguin Random House Canada
Imprint
Tundra Books
ISBN
9780735264984
Awards and Honors
2021 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
In this clever introduction to prepositions, a near-sighted Papa is looking for his baby. Is Baby up in the tree? Is Baby under the log? Is Baby around the corner? Where could Baby be?
Readers will delight in spotting the little fox on every page as Papa wanders the forest, encountering other animals all along the way, but never quite able to spot his own baby. Anne Hunter’s delicate and lovely illustrations with their limited palette highlight the humor of this adorable hide-and-seek tale.
Full-color illustrations were rendered in ball point pen and colored pencil.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
None
Details
Format
Page Count
40
Trim Size
9 1/2" x 9"
Dewey
E
AR
0: points 0
Genre
Fiction
Scholastic Reading Counts
0
JLG Release
Mar 2020
Book Genres
Picture Book
Topics
Animals. Foxes. Family life. Hide-and-seek.
Standard MARC Records
Download Standard MARC Records
Cover Art
Download Cover Art
Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, The Horn Book Magazine
Praise & Reviews
School Library Journal
Papa Fox is searching for Baby in this simple, unassuming concept book about prepositions. Papa Fox looks up in a tree, inside a log, down a hole, and a plethora of other locations, but only finds other animals who are not his child. Meanwhile, hiding in the illustrations, Baby is clearly visible and follows Papa Fox as he searches. Finally, he returns to Mama Fox, declaring he cannot find Baby, until Mama Fox points out Baby has been hiding behind him all along. Papa Fox and his little one embrace, with Baby hoping they can go searching through the woods to meet different animals again. The artwork, which was rendered in ballpoint pen and colored pencil, is featured on expansive two-page spreads. The colors are muted and soft, adding to the quiet tone of the story. Young readers will enjoy spotting Baby in the illustrations, making this a fun read-aloud during group sharing. Although designed to teach children about prepositions, this element is never obtrusive or detracting to the storytelling. A delightful picture book to teach children about prepositions in a subtle, charming way. Recommended.
Horn Book
Have you seen Baby, Mama Fox?” Mama Fox feels certain Baby is “somewhere,” and so Papa Fox begins the search, like a game of hide-and-seek. “Ba-by! Are you indoors? Maybe Baby went out.” Fine lines and crosshatching done with ballpoint pen and colored pencil accentuate patterns and detail while small pops of orange in the pale settings allow readers, unlike Papa, to keep up with Baby. Baby follows behind Papa throughout, with the little fox’s entertaining expressions anticipating potential tension as Papa bumbles into amusing or even precarious situations. Papa sticks his head in an old log and finds an annoyed skunk instead of Baby. Papa dips his head in the water and finds an ominous sharp-toothed fish rather than Baby (the animals’ refrain: “I am not your baby”). By the end, Mama kindly suggests Papa try looking behind him. Savvy readers will have noted that Mama Fox and Baby exchanged a wave before this adventure commenced and that everyone was one up on Papa Fox all along. Baby’s final question—“Hi Papa! Can we do that again?”—calls for repeated readings and, fittingly, the endpapers suggest that keeping up with Baby will be a recurring challenge.
ages 2-5
Pre-Kindergarten Plus
For ages 2-5
Eye-catching concept books and playful stories make this category perfect for one-on-one or group sharing. With 12 books per year, the fun will never stop.
14 books per Year
$213.50 per Year
Interests
Animals,Beginning Readers,Fiction,Nonfiction,Picture Books,Storytime/Read Alouds
ages 2-5
Pre-Kindergarten Plus
14 books per Year
$213.50 per Year
