Cartoonist Knisley makes her solo picture book debut with a hearty welcome to the new babies of the world: "Hello, you! You are new. When you're new... what can you do?" Working in a bold graphic design style, she depicts babies of different ages and backgrounds observing and interacting with their environments ("You take baths, wash off the grime, then get cuddled. Cozy time!"). Developmental stages change as the pages turn, and unconventional color combinations render the children with blue, purple, and cherry red hair and bring a friendly, modish aesthetic to the pages. It's a vivacious celebration of new arrivals and the many wonders to explore. Ages 4-6. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Baby-Toddler-Sweet illustrations using digital collage show babies with various skin and hair colors learning and growing. The text begins with a question: "Hello, You! You are new. When you're new. What can you do?" Seeing, tasting, hearing, being carried, taking naps, riding in a wagon, and experiencing an array of emotions are some of the activities pictured in large, clear -illustrations. The rhyming text, which appears in bold black block print with some words highlighted in other colors has a fine meter but stumbles a bit with a couple of rhymes. Girl babies, boy babies, brown babies, pink babies, yellow babies, tan babies with hair in blue, brown, purple, and teal demonstrate all there is to learn when one is new. VERDICT A perfect lapsit read-aloud or a good pick for older children who have recently welcomed a new sibling into their home.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

These books give babies a generous helping of their erv favorite subiect: themselves. BUSY BABIES Written and illustrated by Amy Schwartz Building blocks, removing socks, with their mamas, in pajamas - almost anything you can picture a baby or toddler getting up to makes an appearance in this casually rhyming book. The result is a clever catalog of baby life, featuring a pleasing array of families of all backgrounds. Schwartz ("A Teeny Tiny Baby") gives babies lots to stare at, and grown-ups may find themselves just as delighted by her exquisite illustrations. Her delectable babies have big heads, small features and even smaller feet and hands, and they wear outfits of detailed perfection. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages Oto 3) ? IS FOR BABY ByAtinuke. Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank. Who needs the whole alphabet when one letter can tell a story as entertaining as this one, set in a colorful, lively West African village? "B is for baby," of course, but each page adds a "B" word as the baby girls brother rides his bicycle to visit their Baba - grandpa - in his bungalow. Turns out the tyke has stowed away in a basket of bananas, making for a funny, happy reunion. Atinuke and Brooksbank ("Baby Goes to Market") have created an appealing package of rhythmic repetition and vibrant images. 40 pp. Candlewick. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 5) YOU ARE NEW Written and illustrated by Lucy Knisley "When you're new," asks this delightfully assured debut children's book from the acclaimed graphic novelist Knisley, "what can you do?" The comforting answers explain a baby's world to her ("You can fit in tiny spots / You get carried quite a lot") while also preparing her for adventures and challenges ahead ("You might not know just want to do ... / That's O.K. when you are new"). But it's the memorable digital art that makes this book a true standout - the sweet-looking babies who crawl and traipse through these pages have a refreshing hint of comics-style edge. 42 pp. Chronicle. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) ANIMAL BABIES LIKE TO PLAY By Jennifer Adams. Illustrated by Mary Lundquist. The animal babies in this adorably drawn alphabet book include a bunny, a jaguar and a quail. They play with jacks and go fishing. They build with blocks and bake pie. Its simpler than it sounds - they are all babies, wearing zip-up animal suits. As Lundquist ("Cat & Bunny") works through the letters, she also delivers a low-key message that playing is fun by yourself, and also with friends. Eagle-eyed babies might even spot Zebra hiding in the background of other letters' pages. 32 pp. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 5) BABY DAY By Jane Godwin and Davina Bell. Illustrated by Freya Blackwood. Birthdays come once a year, but the excitement around them lasts ... possibly forever? Accordingly, this clever book about a first birthday party can be enjoyed any old day. Adorable babies tumble, squawk and dribble their way to the festivities. Cake time comes, the crowd begins to melt down, and the birthday kid is on to a bath, story and bedtime. Blackwood's loose pencil lines and brushy bright colors lend a lovely naturalistic look. 32 pp. Atheneum. $17.99. (Ages 0 to 3) UP UP UP DOWN Written and illustrated by Kimberly Gee Opposites loom large for babies, and Gee brings the concept to adorable life. Her action-packed visual vignettes refreshingly feature a brown-skinned baby and caretaker dad who dramatize the obvious ("no" and "yes") and the more subtle ("yay" and "uh oh"). Her touch is feather-light, with many telling details to spot. 32 pp. Putnam. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) HOORAY FOR BABIES! By Susan Meyers. Illustrated by Sue Cornelison. The pages of this celebration of baby life teem with tiny friends of every stripe, doing baby stuff together. With the little ones collectively narrating ("We raise our sippy cups up high and give a baby cheer") and practically no grown-ups in sight, Meyers ("Everywhere Babies") and Cornelison ("Lost and Found Cat") have created a buoyant mood of baby-centric fun. 32 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. $14.99. (Ages 0 to 3) READ TO YOUR BABY EVERY DAY Edited by Rachel Williams. Illustrated by Chloe Giordano. This treasury of 30 classic nursery rhymes runs through the standards - Old Mother Hubbard, Humpty Dumpty - including many you'll be tempted to sing, like "The Muffin Man." Williams keeps old-fashioned words ("I saw a ship a-sailing") but pares down some longer verses to just one stanza, to fit a baby's attention span. Best of all are Giordano's illustrations, done in heart-stoppingly delicate embroidery. 32 pp. Frances Lincoln. $16.99. (Ages 0 to 4) MARIA RUSSO is the children's books editor of the Book Review.

A bookish, warm welcome to a new baby, and more.Knisley's colorful, digital collage illustrations depict diverse babies with different skin tones and hair colors, although framing scenes in the opening and closing spreads center on a pink-skinned, blond baby coded as male with a blue outfit. These babies, and occasional adults and children, are all depicted against the stark white of the page. Some skin and hair colors, like the first child's very pink skin and some green coifs, are decidedly unnatural, but the overall impact is one of a broad range of humanity so that the direct address of the text can aim for universal resonance. "You can fit in tiny spots. / You get carried quite a lot! // You wear little baby shoes. / It's very cute when you are new," reads representative text, printed in full caps, with selected words highlighted in colors that appear in illustrations. A twist partway through the book saves it from being just another baby-shower gift by acknowledging the ways people continue to be "new" after babyhoodwhen we "try new things," go to "new places," and meet "new folks," for example. This offers a welcome enrichment of a well-worn picture-book theme, concluding with the affirming notion that "when you love / and you're loved, too // just like that, you are new."A new-baby book that feels new. (Picture book. 0-4) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Knisley chronicled her wedding in her 2016 adult graphic-novel memoir Something New; her latest, Kid Gloves (2019), is about pregnancy; and concurrently she has authored her first picture bookabout a newborn baby. In lilting, lighthearted rhyme, the direct-address text describes the things a new baby can do: You can doze and nap and snooze. / It makes you sleepy, being newYou can open wide and yell. / Sometimes you make funny smells. The block-letter font, with occasional words in different colors for emphasis or humor, is easy on the eyesa plus for tired parents. Spare and colorful digital collage illustrations, with well-placed shadows for dimension, show cute blob-shaped babies with a variety of skin tones against clean white backgrounds, their actions and emotions easy to read as they grow and learn throughout toddlerhood, big-sibling-dom, new-school-age, and more. Their accomplishments may be small-seeming, but theyre monumental for young ones (and their grownups) and reassuringly portrayed for all: You might not know just what to do / Thats okay when you are new. elissa Gershowitz (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Colorful, graphic-style art and rhyming lines explore being new through various stages of childhood. Following a cheery opening--"Hello, you! / You are new . . . / What can you do?," a lengthy litany ensues, from "peer" to "snooze" to "peekaboo," illustrated by babies in a wide array of skin tones. Then, with "Look at you, / You've grown so tall. / Soon you won't be / New at all," the book shifts toward highlighting progressively older children; and future-tense assertions, like "You'll learn new games," emphasize different ways to consider being "new." All concludes with affectionate sentiment that "when you love and you're loved," you'll be new. Animated couplets and stanzas, in oversize, bold font, incorporate lively, occasionally slant rhymes (e.g., "adventures" and "family member"), and Knisley's eye-catching, cartoonish figures, with spare line-and-dot facial expressions, portray familiar scenarios, from being carried to playing musical instruments. Occasional views of caregivers lend a comforting presence. While the target audience may be a bit broad, this upbeat, reassuring offering will likely be an enjoyable read for adults and children to share.