Where's Baby?

by Anne Hunter

Overview

A 2020 Geisel Honor book!

Papa Fox is looking for Baby Fox, who is just out of his sight . . . but not ours! An adorable, interactive read-aloud for fans of Are You My Mother?

In this clever introduction to prepositions, a near-sighted Papa is looking for his baby. Is Baby up in the tree? Is Baby under the log? Is Baby around the corner? Where could Baby be?

Readers will delight in spotting the little fox on every page as Papa wanders the forest, encountering other animals all along the way, but never quite able to spot his own baby. Anne Hunter's delicate and lovely illustrations with their limited palette highlight the humor of this adorable hide-and-seek tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735264984
Publisher:	Tundra
Publication date:	01/07/2020
Series:	Baby Animals
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	480,873
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

ANNE HUNTER is a Geisel Honor-awarded illustrator and picture-book writer best known for her books about animals and nature. Anne grew up in Lake Worth, Florida, and now makes her home with the foxes and the owls and the skunks and her family in the woods of Southern Vermont.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/04/2019

“Have you seen Baby, Mama Fox?” Thus begins a search (and a sly introduction to prepositions) that leads Papa Fox to search up in a tree, inside a log, over a hill, down a hole, under some water, and around the bend, encountering a number of un-foxlike creatures, some of them more polite than others. ( “I am not your baby. Go away!” answers a grumpy skunk, and an affable ox responds, “I am not your baby. I’m Davy!”) Hunter’s simple but lively pen and colored pencil drawings allow the deadpan humor to ring out—all the characters, save one, are rendered in scratchy black and white atop a delicate blue sky, and the entire dialogue is delivered via hand-lettered speech bubbles. A small orange character hides just out of the searching animal’s sight throughout the spreads until Papa Fox checks an obvious spot at Mama’s behest—attentive readers will spot early on that Mama Fox is in on the game. The dramatic irony paired with Papa’s earnest calls of “Ba-by!” make this a winner for interactive reading, and Baby’s final request, “Can we do that again?” will ensure this fun and gently instructive story is repeated. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

A 2020 Geisel Honor book!
Featured in Horn Book’s list of picture books for Father’s Day.
A 2021 Bank Street Book of the Year

PRAISE FOR Where's Baby?:

"The dramatic irony paired with Papa’s earnest calls of “Ba-by!” make this a winner for interactive reading, and Baby’s final request, “Can we do that again?” will ensure this fun and gently instructive story is repeated." —STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly

"Fun and instructive, this forest frolic will have kids eager to play along." —Kirkus Reviews

"Where’s Baby? is a beautifully illustrated hide-and-seek book for preschool aged children who want a light, playful read." —CM Magazine

“[V]iewers will get a kick out of finding Baby when Papa Fox can’t.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

“A hapless father fox sets out to find his cheeky baby pup in Anne Hunter’s fresh and entertaining picture book.” —BookPage

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

PreS-K—Papa Fox is searching for Baby in this simple, unassuming concept book about prepositions. Papa Fox looks up in a tree, inside a log, down a hole, and a plethora of other locations, but only finds other animals who are not his child. Meanwhile, hiding in the illustrations, Baby is clearly visible and follows Papa Fox as he searches. Finally, he returns to Mama Fox, declaring he cannot find Baby, until Mama Fox points out Baby has been hiding behind him all along. Papa Fox and his little one embrace, with Baby hoping they can go searching through the woods to meet different animals again. The artwork, which was rendered in ballpoint pen and colored pencil, is featured on expansive two-page spreads. The colors are muted and soft, adding to the quiet tone of the story. Young readers will enjoy spotting Baby in the illustrations, making this a fun read-aloud during group sharing. Although designed to teach children about prepositions, this element is never obtrusive or detracting to the storytelling. VERDICT A delightful picture book to teach children about prepositions in a subtle, charming way. Recommended.—Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2019-10-13
In a hiding game led by Baby Fox, Papa Fox searches the forest for his little one but neglects to look in one obvious place.

Not finding his offspring indoors in their den, Papa Fox asks Mama where Baby might be, and she responds: "Why, Baby must be somewhere, Papa Fox." Papa heads out to find Baby and looks in, over, under, down, up, and around, encountering owl, skunk, bear, mouse, toothy fish, and bull—but no Baby Fox. Disheartened, Papa says, "Mama Fox, I can't find Baby anywhere." She responds knowingly, "Have you looked behind you, Papa Fox?" Readers will have seen that Mama has been in on the joke all along if they noticed, early on, Mama waving goodbye to Baby, who is quietly following Papa as he sets off on his search. The text is entirely composed of dialogue in speech balloons. Graceful, finely sketched pen-and-pencil drawings, primarily in black and gray against a pale blue backdrop, complement this exercise in identifying prepositions. Kids will play along with Baby, easily spotting his pointy ears and rusty-orange body, which pops against the otherwise muted palette. Reunited with Papa, Baby Fox asks, "Can we do that again?"—encouraging multiple readings of this amusing story.

Fun and instructive, this forest frolic will have kids eager to play along. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews