Just Like a Baby by Juanita Havill, illustrated by Christine Davenier.
Ellen is a tiny baby but everyone in her family has big plans for her. In fact, everyone wants her to turn out just like them! So aunts and uncles and cousins gather around her bassinet in droves to declare exactly what she will be. A fisherman, a dancer, a scholar, a pilot, a musician, an athlete, and much more. But Ellen will actually do exactly as she herself wants to, as she announces with a loud howl.
This book captures the excitement, the attention and the joy of a new baby in a large family. Davenier’s illustrations are crowded with faces that reflect their delight. Havill does well in keeping the book from becoming a litany of ideas and maintains a rhythm and flow to the book as a whole. Her words dance, whoop and twirl. My favorite passage is her description of the baby’s cry as “a cloud-ruffling yowl.” Lovely and apt.
This delightful book is perfect for a new baby gift, but I can also see it being useful with new big siblings who will may worry about the attention paid to the new baby. Appropriate for ages 3-6.