Review: The Day the Babies Crawled Away

The Day the Babies Crawled Away

by Peggy Rathmann

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 0-399-23196-X

Summary/Back cover:
What a lovely day at the fair. Children lining up for pony rides . . . moms and dads in a pie-eating contest . . . babies chasing butterflies . . . babies heading for the trees . . . I SAY! Where are those babies GOING? Only a small boy sees them leaving and follows as the babies chase butterflies in trees, frogs in a bog, even bats in a cave, ignoring pleas to come back. But not to worry, our hero saves the day, making sure that all the babies get home safely from their appealing adventures.

Caldecott Medal winner Peggy Rathmann has created a highly original story told in a lilting text and a bold new style with classic black silhouettes against stunning skies of many colors that change and glow as afternoon turns into evening.

Review:
This book caught my eye because of the illustrations - the sky has colour, but everything else is in silhouette throughout the book. My 3 year old could see what the pictures were, but my 1 year old appeared not to be able to.

The story slows along with many rhymed but not in any sort of regular rhythm - however, this (surprisingly) doesn't affect the flow of the story at all.

It's a funny wee story, about babies that have crawled away (obviously!)and a slightly bigger boy that followed them - it's written from a parent's perspective, as though they were talking to the older child: "Remember the day when the babies crawled away?"

A lovely story - probably not a favourite on our shelf, but a good story all the same.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Review written by Bronwyn