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An ode to babyhood, inspired by the blues artistry of B.B. King, illuminates the woes of being unable to walk, talk or chew in a world of soggy diapers, mushy meals and sleeping behind bars. By the author of Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp. - (Baker & Taylor)

An ode to babyhood, inspired by the blues artistry of B.B. King, illuminates the woes of being unable to walk, talk, or chew in a world of soggy diapers, mushy meals, and sleeping behind bars. - (Baker & Taylor)

Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of an infant is really like? In this bluesy story, sometimes being a baby is enough to make you cry.

Oh, baby, wouldn’t it be grand to be a baby? No worries, no woes, the whole world doing everything for you. Like floating down easy street. . . . But wait one guitar-pickin’ minute. That’s a lie! Babies can’t talk, can’t walk, can’t even really chew. It’s enough to make the baby in this story blue, blue, blue. So get ready for a sad tale of soggy diapers, mushy meals, and sleepin’ behind bars that may make you cry, too — but more likely will make you giggle! Jamming with illustrator Lauren Tobia, Carol Diggory Shields gives a tip of the fedora to B.B. King in an ode to babyhood that’ll have readers feeling anything but blue. - (Random House, Inc.)

Author Biography

Carol Diggory Shields is the author of more than twenty books for children, including Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp and The Bugliest Bug, both illustrated by Scott Nash. It was time spent with her three grandbabies that inspired her to write about the challenges of being small and entirely dependent on others. As the sister of a musician, she couldn’t help but imagine a baby’s woes expressed in bluesy lyrics! Carol Diggory Shields lives in California.

Lauren Tobia says that illustrating Baby’s Got the Blues transported her back to the time when her own children were quite young, and even made her reminisce about her own childhood, when she was the big sister. Lauren Tobia is the illustrator of the Anna Hibiscus books, written by Atinuke. She lives in England. - (Random House, Inc.)

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Booklist Reviews

Oh baby! It's not easy being an infant. Shields explains all in a text that reads so bluesy, you could almost sing it: I'd like to eat some pizza, / Macaroni, or beef stew, / But I haven't got a single tooth, / So I can't even chew. The amusing text is ramped up several notches by Tobia's terrific artwork. Reminiscent of Bob Graham's art (with realistic characters like the tattooed mom) and in a style resembling Helen Oxenbury's, especially in the look of the children, the pictures are, nonetheless, all her own. Whether full page or vignettes, the delightful pen-and-watercolor artwork focuses in on Baby, who is down in the dumps because he needs a diaper change or has to be a spectator as the older kids play ball. Her neat use of perspective and friendly scenes of family and neighborhood, done in lively colors, with lots of reds and greens and plenty of open space, bring readers right into the story. Finally, the baby blues are drowned in hugs and kisses. What could be happier than that? Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Who can blame a baby for singing the blues? Representative lyrics from this soulfully silly book (with more parent- than kid appeal): "I'd like to eat some pizza, / Macaroni, or beef stew, / But I haven't got a single tooth, / So I can't even chew." Happily, the conclusion is pop-song upbeat. Tobia uses spare lines to capture the baby's emotions.

Kirkus Reviews

A baby sings the blues, naming his many woes in each verse: wet diapers, mushy meals, legs that don't walk quite yet and nap time in a crib that feels more like a cage. Baby endures misery after little misery, while his nearly featureless face relays astonishment, mute pleading and chagrined surrender. Who wants to be stuck in a sling on someone's back, anyway? Older siblings might finally find some empathy for the babies in their lives--and a few laughs too. The brilliant incongruity of a baby and blues music (usually featuring soured romance, bum luck and booze) hits all the right comedic notes. Baby's refrain, repeated after each demoralizing episode, howls out for a singalong: B-A-B-Y, baby, Got those…baby blues. Tobia's pen-and-ink illustrations beg for repeat visits too, with their refreshing portrayal of a bustling urban family. This mama, sporting a tattoo, tank top and a messy ponytail, takes big sister and baby to a pizza-place play date and then a walk along New York City's High Line. Eye-squinting details (polka dots on the underside of a stuffed bunny's ears, a paisley pattern on a blanket, etc.) and vivid colors energize these wonderfully ordinary scenes of moms and small children. A final verse brings lots of kisses and a smile to baby's face--an unusual end to a blues song, but perfect for this ballad about an infant's everyday frustrations. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus 2013 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

"I'd like to eat some pizza,/ Macaroni, or beef stew,/ But I haven't got a single tooth,/ So I can't even chew," wails the baby bluesman that Shields (Wombat Walkabout) and Tobia (the Anna Hibiscus books) introduce. Stinky diapers, unsteady legs, and doing time "behind these bars—Is it a crib or is it jail?": who wouldn't feel oppressed? Of course, life isn't really that bad: the baby has a not-disinterested older sister (the princess crown anchored to her head is a nice touch of birth order assertion), a hipster mom (with a snake tattoo!), and the good sense to know that "blues" also rhymes with "I love yous." This portrait of a very modern family—with its skillfully distilled domestic scenes; warm, saturated colors; and empathic, round-headed characters—will remind some of the work of Helen Oxen-bury. Best of all, the text is eminently singable by anyone with even a passing familiarity with Muddy Waters; it could quickly become an all-ages anthem for anyone connected to a newborn. Ages 3–7. Illustrator's agent: Mandy Suhr, Miles Stott Literary Agency. (Mar.)

[Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 2—"You think babies have it easy?" Not according to the tiny narrator who relates the trials and tribulations of being a helpless babe. When the little one wakes up soggy, there's "no way to say,/'Won't somebody change my diaper?'" When confronted with an enticing spread of pizza, macaroni, and stew, all that baby can eat is strained green goop because "I can't even chew." Baby can't run and jump with the older kids and resents spending time in its crib-"or is it jail?" Each of these complaints culminates in a heartrending blues refrain tailored to the situation. Wet-soaked baby sings, "B-A-B-Y,/ baby,/Got those damp old baby blues." Orange-sleeper-clad infant hangs forlornly over the crib bars whining, "B-A-B-Y,/baby,/Got those locked-up/baby blues." No need to feel sorry for this baby. While the guitars in some of the large illustrations rendered in ink and pencil and assembled digitally reinforce the blues theme, the pictures also reveal an attentive mom and an older sister happily looking on. Mom scoops baby out of the crib "with a 'Kitchy-kitchy-koo!' B-A-B-Y, baby,/Don't you know/we all love you?" This is a story that will enable slightly older children to look back and reminisce about bygone days.—Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

[Page 79]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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