cover image Babies Around the World

Babies Around the World

Puck, illus. by Violet Lemay. Duopress (Workman, dist.), $7.95 (20p) ISBN 978-1-938093-87-6

This multilingual board book greets children in eight languages as it makes its way around the globe over the course of a day. Airy lines, a patchwork of patterns, and splashy colors create a mood of carefree energy in each city: “Bom dia, mundo (Good morning, world),” offers a Brazilian baby as it crawls across a sandy Rio beach, the statue of Christ the Redeemer towering over the landscape in the distance. In Egypt, a woman wearing a Cairo T-shirt and hijab holds up her daughter, as though readers are a guest in their home: “Marhabaan ‘asdiqa’. (Hello, friends).” Although the languages aren’t identified, only the cities, it’s a lovely portrait of kindness without borders. Up to age 5. (Mar.)