Baby Days by Alison Lester

Allen & Unwin, 2014. ISBN 9781760111724
(Age: 1-4) Is there a new baby or a toddler in your circle? If so, the inimitable Alison Lester has once again created a beautiful book that would make a perfect first-book gift.
Combining four stories, Bibs and Boots, Bumping and Bouncing,Crashing and Splashing, Happy and Sad, previously available as board books, into an exquisite single volume with a lovely padded cover, Baby Days is a delightful collection for small humans 'discovering the world of things they love to do'.
Each double page spread is like a snapshot framed in a border, with the signature Alison Lester style, displaying activities that tiny people will recognise and to which they will respond.
Little details abound - such as the rather shocked faces of toys who are being speedily pulled along in a wagon attached to a billy cart or the baby eating sand in the sandpit, rather than digging in it. Scenes from the backyard, the playroom, the beach, the park, the farm, the kitchen, Grandma's place and more will resonate with the small audience and provide much conversation and little ones explore language.
In sunshine and rain, whether happy or sad, babies will recognise much that corresponds with their own families and homes.
Pop one into the Santa sack of your favourite little human this Christmas!
Sue Warren