Baby on Board, How Animals Carry Their Young
How do animals carry their babies? Not in backpacks or strollers, but tucked in pouches . . . Gripped in teeth . . . Propped on backs . . . Even underneath! Marianne Berkes’ rhyming verses present some of the many ways that animals carry their young. Cathy Morrison’s magical illustrations capture the intimate moments of mother and baby.
AWARDS
Moonbeam Children’s Book Award (Gold)
2017 Best Book Award (Winner)
2017 Creative Child Magazine (Book of the Year)
Mom’s Choice Awards (Gold)
2017 Florida Book Award Winner
Reviews
"A rhyming description of many ways that animals, and people, carry and protect their young.The text distinguishes itself by including references to a broad diversity of animals ranging from those the theme demands—a kangaroo with a joey in her pouch, for instance—to some less-expected ones, such as a manatee whose baby swims close beside her, nuzzling below her fin to nurse. . . . Accompanying expository text on facing pages provides factual information that serves the book well, though its staid presence underscores the bouncy, rhyming text’s flaws. The realistic art style better suits the expository text and is at turns compelling (the penguin scene is a high point) and overworked (the alligator spread leaves little rest for the eye). The animal spreads are framed with opening and closing pages of text and art depicting racially diverse human parents carrying and caring for their little ones. Backmatter includes a matching game, further information about the animals, curricular connections, and print and internet resources. A comforting, informative read ..." (Informational picture book. 3-6)— Kirkus Reviews (January 15, 2017)
"Rhyming text and stunningly-detailed illustrations of animals in their natural habitats combine to provide information about how animals carry their young. By first introducing the topic through something with which young readers will be familiar–how humans carry their young in slings, carriers, and backpacks–the author insures that they will be able to make connections to how other animals carry their young. Thus, she highlights species who carry their young in a pouch, in their mouth, on their backs, on their chest, or even sitting on their feet before being hatches. I liked how the main story line appears on one page with interesting snippets on the facing page. I learned something about sea otters that I never knew–they secure their offspring with kelp so the babies won’t escape while heading off to hunt for food. Activities and additional information are provided at the back of the book. This is an attractive and informative addition for the well-stocked science classroom library."— Goodreads, Barbara (Feb. 10, 2017)
"Beautiful in imagery and rich in text, this book is bound to delight and inform readers of all ages. A wonderfully comforting message of connectedness among the world's creatures shines through--big or small, fierce or cuddly, we all care for our young."--Dr. Mary Benson McMullen, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
"Baby On Board” is a beautifully illustrated book teaching children how different animals carry their young. Realistic color portraits of many different species of animals carrying their young cover the pages, along with a rhyming narrative full of exciting descriptions and information about the animal’s habits and habitat. Some of the animals with their young studied include: sea otter, kangaroo, sloth, opossum, manatee, chimpanzee, common loon, alligators, the wolf spider, emperor penguin, anteater, lion, and finally, human animals as well. Pages at the end of “Baby On Board” over a matching game featuring tiny animal pictures, names, and descriptions of how the animal carries its young. Other learning activity suggestions include a read aloud section, some language arts questions, math study questions, and questions in other categories, including science, engineering, movement, and resources. More learning activities are available at www.dawnpub.com for educators, parents and lucky students."
— Midwest Book Review, James Cox, Editor-in-Chief (Children’s Bookwatch: March 2017)
This latest, outstanding release from Dawn Publications engages young readers by showing them ways in which they might have been carried by their parents as infants and toddlers. Then it asks them to think about how animals, who can’t buy baby carriers or strollers, might carry their young. The loving, animated illustrations make the book a winner, and a lot of information is communicated along the way. This learning-based publisher has once again met its own standards with this combination of science and art.
As usual, the focus is on interactive education. Suggestions for follow-up activities for teachers, parents, and young readers are provided at the end. There is also a code to scan in order to access even more activities on the Dawn Publications website.
— Retailing Insight, Anna Jedrziewski (April 2017)
“When you were a baby, someone carried you.
Have you ever wondered what animal parents do?”
They may not have baby backpacks or strollers or carriers… but wild animal moms have figured out how to transport their kids from one place to another.
Kangaroos use pockets, mama otters become rafts, and mother possums give their young piggy-back rides. Even dads get into the picture.
Fun, rhyming language and realistic illustrations introduce youngsters to the diversity of transport their woollier – and featherier – wild friends experience. Back matter includes a matching game and plenty of resources for further exploration.
— Archimedes Notebook Blog (2017)
“Pick me up, pick me up,” our children say. Then as they get a bit older, they begin to carry around their own stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures. This leads in well to a discussion of animals and their babies. Teachers, parents and librarians can use this beautifully illustrated book of how animal babies are carried to introduce or supplement any animal unit of study. Close-ups of each animal pair make it easy to see how the baby is transported from one place to another. Young children will enjoy this immensely.
Short rhyming lines introduce each animal pair followed by a slightly more in-depth description. A glossary gives even more detail.
Following the narration, a matching game is provided as a culmination of the story. For teachers, there are several suggestions for cross-curricular activities in language arts, math, engineering and movement. There are also web links to provide additional activities.
Extras: Teacher guidelines for use in language arts, math, engineering, movement and math. An extensive glossary, extended reading lists and web links. It also contains a matching game for young readers to complete after reading the book.
— 1st Grade Reading Blog (2017)
Synopsis:
In rhyme and in prose, this picture book tells of the relationship between parents and offspring of a wide variety of animals, focusing specifically on how the babies are carried by mom and dad. It begins by asking kids how they were carried then contrasts strollers and backpacks with tucked in pouches or gripping backs etc.
Why I like this book:
Beginning with asking kids how they were carried while babies helps kids connect to the animal parent behaviors. I wondered if the mix of rhyme and prose would be distracting, but the author separates a simple rhyming couplet introducing the main means of parental carrying for that animal on one page then on the other side of the spread presents some simple facts in prose. It works. While animals like kangaroos or opossums were an obvious choice, Morrison includes some more unusual animals like the wolf spider and the anteater.
The children being carried in the opening spread are as diverse as the animals and I was very glad that loons and emperor penguins provided animals with dads as caregivers as well as moms. It’s a book that will encourage children to care for animals as they feel the same connection with their primary caregivers. All animals care for their young.
The illustrations are stunning, in a rich deep palette. The front cover is my favorite because of my otter obsession!
This is an informative and comforting read and a great asset to a school or classroom library.
Resources/activities:
Background information is also provided for each animals as well as extra resources. The book concludes with a matching game for children, and ideas for language arts and math as well as science.
Teachers will find that this book fits well with the primary grade science curriculum.
The publisher website provides free activities at https://dawnpub.com/our-books/baby-on….
If you missed my interview with the illustrator, Cathy Morrison, on Tuesday, here’s the link.
— Miss Marple’s Musings Blog (2017)
“When you were a baby, someone carried you.
Have you ever wondered what animal parents do?”
They may not have baby backpacks or strollers or carriers… but wild animal moms have figured out how to transport their kids from one place to another.
Kangaroos use pockets, mama otters become rafts, and mother possums give their young piggy-back rides. Even dads get into the picture.
Fun, rhyming language and realistic illustrations introduce youngsters to the diversity of transport their woollier – and featherier – wild friends experience. Back matter includes a matching game and plenty of resources for further exploration.
— STEM Friday – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Books Blog (2017)