"More More More," Said the Baby

by Vera B. Williams

Children's book review by Steve Barancik

Ages 0-3

Celebrating babies of all colors

Have you seen that wonderful commercial that urges us to talk to our pre-verbal kids?

A woman rolls her cart through the grocery store, and she looks to be a raving lunatic, talking near-nonsense to herself. At least that's what you think, until the camera pans down and we see a baby delighted with the baby talk.

Very few babies have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Nearly none of led their teams to the Super Bowl, and none of them have their own cable talk shows...yet.

But Vera B. Williams knows that that doesn't mean we shouldn't be celebrating them, as well as communicating with them.

Author-illustrator Williams promises three love stories; she definitely delivers on the love. Three nicknamed babies are presented, one at a time, in a one-on-one interaction with a loving adult. As the inside flap of my library copy reads,

Here are Little Guy, Little Pumpkin, and Little Bird. Their grownups love them.

Indeed they do. Lacking real world accomplishments, these little ones are still celebrated - as they should be - for their belly buttons, their toes, and their cute little eyes.

Little Guy's dad plays with him, as does Little Pumpkin's grandmother, and Little Bird's mom. The first pairing is white, the second black and white, the third Asian.

Williams earned a 1991 Caldecott Honor for her work here, capturing the joy in loving and being loved.

"More More More," Said the Baby contains all the comfort and soothing repetition characteristic of a classic baby book, with some lovely multiculturalism to boot.

More Caldecott reviews.

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