What Shall We Do with the Boo Hoo Baby?

This was a pretty easy read, lots of repetition of animals and the noises they make as the creatures try to settle the crying baby. The repetition is good for children learning language and it has the same effect on me learning German as an adult. Duck & cow were new ones to me. Also contains tense change, which is interesting.

This has cute illustrations from Ingrid Godon, who also drew the superior One Gorgeous Baby, and it's cute the way the animals all try to help the baby, but I can't help but feel there's a bit of an edge to all the boo-hooing--I for one can't figure out how to read it with feeling in a way that doesn't sound like I'm also making fun of my son and babies everywhere, like "oh boo-hoo," and crying babies need to be comforted not immortalized in literature.

*Very* short. Cute enough animals and ending. Realistic story arc. But muddy colors that make the book look old, faded, and worn make it unappealing to me. And, really, I'd have liked just a little more, either in the text to read, or in the pictures to talk about. 2.5 stars, rounded down because I had higher hopes and was disappointed.

This was such a cute book and I enjoyed reading it. One reason I liked this book was the repetition. They repeat "What shall we do with the Boo-hoo Baby?" and they repeat the sounds the animals make, a lot throughout the story. Repetition is great for younger children because it helps for them to remember. Another reason I liked this book was because the text. The text size and font changed throughout the book. For example, on the page where the baby is sleeping and the animals are making their sounds, the text got very small. This is letting the readers get a better understanding that the animals are whispering. Overall, this book could be a great way for children to learn about animal sounds.

This is one of my all time favorite baby board books. It was the first book to make my son laugh out lound, the last page is great!

Review from library copy.

Okay, I liked it.

Vier dieren zitten opgescheept met een huilende baby en proberen van alles om hem stil te krijgen.