SMILE, BABY!

This baby-centric board book has just what is needed to delight the baby in your arms.

Namely, a 4-inch mirror seen through circular frames on every page. The frames make easy handholds when baby is ready to turn each page. The text goes from the general, opening with “Where is baby?” to the particular: “Where is baby’s nose?” These questions are posed on verso; on the opposite page, above the mirror, it states the obvious: “There is baby’s nose!” Below the mirror a related action is suggested. “Can you touch baby’s nose?” The pattern of prompts is repeated with ears, eyes, cheeks, and mouth. On each spread, the action word is in a larger font, colored to match the circle around the mirror. The feature mentioned on each spread is highlighted by the illustrations. When baby is asked to pat their cheeks, a nursery-style fox, giraffe, and pink octopus are shown patting their cheeks. Some of the illustrations are less directly linked and seem mostly decorative. The pages about eyes show animals looking at books, though the suggested action is “Can you close baby’s eyes?” No matter; illustrating eyes closing would have been too abstract. The focus here is on naming common facial features and concrete, easily repeated actions.

A happy, age-appropriate book that keeps baby as the center of attention—right where babies should be!