HELLO BABY ANIMALS, WHO ARE YOU?

Soft illustrations identify and name baby animals.

Most little ones are entranced at the sight of cute animals, and in this board book there are plenty of sweet baby fluffballs to hold their interest. It’s a slightly odd collection of critters, with an emphasis on barnyard friends such as lambs, a calf, and piglets—to which are added a selection of wilder things, like a baby turtle and a fawn. Succinct and repetitive text introduces the baby animals by their special names and then by their species: “I’m a clever cub, says the baby fox.” (Some readers may wish to substitute kit.) Older toddlers past the basic naming stage will enjoy the opportunity to learn that a baby deer, for instance, is referred to as a fawn. Adjectives describing the creatures, including the “wobbly foal” or “curious owlets,” are accessible vocabulary builders. Muted, mottled pastel illustrations are a welcome choice for the intimate nature of the book. Soft, smudged edges make the animals look fluffy, and the pastel lines swirling about the animals create enticing auras about them. While the animals aren’t photorealistic, they are definitely naturalistic, with close-ups of a handsome goat kid prancing and a vulnerable, big-eyed donkey foal. Background colors can sometimes be unexpected—the fox and bunny are surrounded by rich peachy, plum tones with diffuse white highlights—but they are all quite attractive.

A darling way to learn baby animal names.