BABY AND ME

A child with a doll demonstrates baby care in this sweet, decidedly purposeful outing.

“This is me,” begins the stroller-pushing young narrator. “And this… / is my baby doll.” On she goes to show bottle feeding, diaper changing (sans any visible sign of need for same), bathing and toweling dry, and then putting down in a rocking cradle. “Being a mommy is really hard work!” she concludes meaningfully, and so she promises to give her own mommy lots of help—with “our new baby!” Using a palette of, largely, pale pinks and blues, Dodd crafts big, simply drawn illustrations of the cheery tot with her doll (both Caucasian). They are enhanced by glued-in swatches of soft cloth representing towel and diaper, plus pull tabs that lower a stroller’s hood, empty a milk bottle and float a rubber ducky across the tub. A climactic double-flap doorway reveals mommy with both baby and new big sister on her lap.

Pushing actual child care duties off on preschoolers is a nonstarter, but this may help prepare younger prospective sibs for family changes.