Because You Are My Baby Book

An imaginative and heartwarming ode that celebrates a parent's affection for a child

If I were a skywriter, I'd write your name up high
In sparkling golden loop-the-loops across a summer sky.

To what heights will a mom or dad go to celebrate their love for a son or daughter? Will they climb Mount Everest? Will they write a hit song? From making pizza as a chef and blasting off as an astronaut visiting Mars, to gathering gemstones as a geologist and granting wishes as a genie, a parent's fanciful desires for his or her child come true as the child discovers each wonder while mom lovingly looks on. This book is a great read aloud at storytime to subtly introduce careers, soothing as a bedtime book or lullaby, and an ideal gift for new mothers and for Mother's Day and Father's Day.

The dynamic first-time author and illustrator team treats parents and children to a story that celebrates affection with imagination. The free lines and warm, soft colors of Marcellus Hall's illustrations bring to life Sherry North's rhythmic and lively text, resulting in a heartfelt testament to the boundless love of a parent.

Publishers Weekly

Hall, whose editorial portfolio includes covers for the New Yorker, makes an impressive picture book debut. As Mom imagines how a variety of professions would enable her to "do anything" for her baby (and his ever-present teddy bear), Hall's radiant, double-page watercolors showcase his gifts for dramatic sweep and comic telling detail. When Mom declares, "If I were a mountaineer, I would take you to the peak/ Of Everest and Fuji, a new summit every week," Hall creates a stunning, top-of-the-world landscape, planting cartoon characters atop mountain peaks striated in translucent ribbons of navy, rose, purple and turquoise. When Mom fancies herself a headliner in a Hong Kong stadium rock show (her skirt is demure but her boots have stiletto heels), Hall gives Baby industrial-strength ear protectors and places a burly, glaring roadie at the edge of the stage to hold back the Deadhead-esque crowd. Every one of these wry but always inviting images buoys the sometimes clunky couplets by North (also making her debut), and lifts a familiar premise far above the ordinary. Ages 3-6. (Apr.)

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