Baby bedtime by Mem Fox and Emma Quay

Penguin Australia, 2013. ISBN 9780670075195.
Highly recommended for 2 years +. From the beautiful blue and lilac tones to the slightly padded and textured cover to the soothing lyrical text, this book deserves a place on the shelf for all little people as one of their very special bedtime reads.
Mem Fox has once again created a simple but very moving rhyming text that flows with such gentleness and is so perfectly accompanied by Emma Quay's exquisite illustrations that the reading becomes a heart-stopping experience.
Mem's own words about how the book came about explain the love with which this book is suffused and even before I had read her comments, the text had revealed overwhelmingly the intensity of love one has for a special new baby.
'I could eat your little ears.
I could nibble on your nose.
I could munch your tiny fingers.
I could gobble up your toes . . .'
Quay's illustrations, created with a mixture of pencil, acrylic and Photoshop - using found op shop items such as lace and so on - have skilfully steered away from a gendered approach by using a mother and baby elephant (and yes, I just love elephants so that was very apt).
I love everything about this book - the feel of it, the look of it, the sound of it, and the emotion of it. For those who may have a special baby in their life (and aren't they all?) this would make a perfect 'welcome' gift. For those of us whose babies are now little people, it will still be a beautiful snuggle-up-before-bed-so-you-know-how-much-I-love-you read aloud.
Sue Warren