It Had to Be You: A High Contrast Book For Newborns

by Loryn Brantz, Loryn Brantz (Illustrator)

Overview

This sweet and playful board book features bold, high-contrast black-and-white illustrations that babies can actually see!

In simple, beautiful verse, bestselling Feminist Baby creator and two-time Emmy Award winner Loryn Brantz narrates the journey that parents take to have their perfect little one.

New York magazine's The Strategist chose It Had to Be You as one of the "Best (Nonobvious) Baby Books to Bring to a Shower." As The Strategist stated: "Because of its high-contrast color scheme (with red accents), it’s easy for babies to see the illustrations. Plus, the lyrical text is a love poem to the child that’s as soothing and sweet as a lullaby."

With lyrical text from parent to baby, It Had to Be You is perfect for fans of I’ve Loved You Since Forever and Guess How Much I Love You. A must-have addition to every baby’s nursery and a perfect gift for baby showers, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.

For every one of our wishes, for every bump along the way, now that you’re here, we’ve known all along...it had to be YOU!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063086333
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/14/2021
Series:	A Love Poem Your Baby Can See
Pages:	22
Sales rank:	51,304
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 4 Years

About the Author

Loryn Brantz is the creator of: The Good Advice Cupcake, Jellybean Comics, Blanket Journey to Extreme Coziness, the best-selling board book series Feminist Baby, and a two-time Emmy winner. She is currently a Creative Director at BuzzFeed where her work has been as silly as Disney Princesses with Realistic Hair and as serious as mental health advocacy–garnering millions of views and discussions. Loryn lives in New York City with her husband, architect Jake J Brotter and her much longed for baby, Dalia. 

Loryn Brantz is the creator of: The Good Advice Cupcake, Jellybean Comics, Blanket Journey to Extreme Coziness, the best-selling board book series Feminist Baby, and a two-time Emmy winner. She is currently a Creative Director at BuzzFeed where her work has been as silly as Disney Princesses with Realistic Hair and as serious as mental health advocacy–garnering millions of views and discussions. Loryn lives in New York City with her husband, architect Jake J Brotter and her much longed for baby, Dalia. 

Editorial Reviews

"A sweet and tender proclamation of parental predestination that will catch babies’ eyes." — Kirkus Reviews

An enchanting book with a simple message that's universal, comforting, and true.  It Had to be You will captivate children and resonate in the heart of every adult. — Janet Lansbury, author of No Bad Kids

No matter how your family came to be, Feminist Baby creator Loryn Brantz's It Had to Be You is the ideal love letter for all parents to share with their children. With high-contrast black-and-white illustrations that are visually accessible to infants, Brantz's lyrical prose is a literary lullaby perfect for your little one's bedtime routine.  — Lacey Vorrasi-Banis, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Parental Guidance

From the Publisher

No matter how your family came to be, Feminist Baby creator Loryn Brantz's It Had to Be You is the ideal love letter for all parents to share with their children. With high-contrast black-and-white illustrations that are visually accessible to infants, Brantz's lyrical prose is a literary lullaby perfect for your little one's bedtime routine. 

Lacey Vorrasi-Banis

An enchanting book with a simple message that's universal, comforting, and true.  It Had to be You will captivate children and resonate in the heart of every adult.

Janet Lansbury

2021-12-03
New parents welcome an addition to the family.

On the first spread, readers see a medical professional passing a swaddled newborn into a pair of eager hands. “Of all the babies that are born, it had to be YOU,” the text begins. Subsequent spreads show the first-time parents driving home over what could easily be the Brooklyn Bridge, getting settled in their city apartment, and bonding with their tiny munchkin. As father and mother shower the infant with love, the text proclaims their adoration, emphasizing that the little one was destined to be theirs. The use of anaphora intensifies the emotion of the poem/story and creates a driving rhythm that underscores the sheer force of parental love. The illustrations are rendered in a high-contrast, black-and-white palette with pops of red. Given that babies see in only black and white just after birth and then see red first as their color vision develops, the artwork is deliberately designed with the littlest of readers in mind. The human characters have straight hair and appear as white silhouettes against black negative space. On one spread showing the family sitting together on grass, the mother is wearing what could be a hijab.

A sweet and tender proclamation of parental predestination that will catch babies’ eyes. (Board book. 0-4)

Kirkus Reviews