Baby Farm Animals

Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr

Hooray! The Golden Books are back! The much loved picture books from the 1950s return with their classic stories and distinctive gold spines. They are, however, slightly abridged in their new board book format because-as any experienced adult caretaker knows too well-board books can only grow so big before they become lethal weapons. The volume in hand showcases Williams' marvelous rendering of farm animals. The anonymous writer may blandly state that ?Baby cow is called a calf. She says "Moooo! It is time for lunch." But it is Williams who finds and shows the humor of the wobbly-legged, not quite with it, yet most certainly hungry baby. In a similar vein his red-eyed baby rabbit looks like an incipient Bunnicula, while his carrot-ignoring donkey is already way too wise for his age. And then there are the guinea pigs, and the ducklings, and the mischievous puppies, and.... In short, even abridged, there is still quite a lot of good stuff for observant toddlers and parents to enjoy in this reissue. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr