THIS LITTLE PIGGY

A multicultural cast illustrates a familiar nursery rhyme.

In successive double-page spreads, five round-faced babies each point to the appropriate toe on verso, acting out the rhyme on the opposite page, dressed as pigs, in hooded pink sleepers. “This little piggy” is always on the left while the action text is on the right. This is a vegetarian version of the song; “roast leeks” is substituted for the traditional “roast beef.” Words with musical annotation are printed on the back cover. All the babies (except the White baby who “had none”) are smiling. The light-brown–skinned tot eating roast leeks looks delighted with the meal. The babies’ brightly colored clothing stands out against uncluttered white backgrounds. Equally diverse groups of babies, with at least one wearing glasses, star in the other Baby Board Book titles that publish simultaneously. Sleeper-costumed babies play the parts of cat, cow, moon and dog in Hey Diddle Diddle. The toddler pairs playing Pat-a-Cake (in one case a trio) are interracial; one child appears to have Down syndrome. Ten Little Fingers, often used to quiet young children at the start of storytime, ends with a mixed-race pair and three stuffed animals all ready for the next story, with hands folded “just so.” In all books, children cued as Asian are presented with half-circle eyes instead of dots, as if they are closed.

With its companions, music, movement, and language development in four developmentally appropriate packages.