B Is for Baby by Atinuke (review)

Rather than worrying about how to fill in letters A through Z, this alphabet-structured picture book finds a letter it likes—B—and sticks with it. It nonetheless manages to tell an engaging story, as the Baby ends up in the Basket that gets taken on the Bicycle by the Baobab tree and the sticky-fingered Baboon, ending up at the Bungalow that holds beloved Baba. British author Atinuke draws on her West African origins for this playful tale, but the basic notion of a visit to a doting grandparent transcends cultural borders. Brooksbank's mixed-media art portrays the baby and her big brother with friendly casualness, yet it offers a stealthy sophistication in the layered paintwork that adds luminosity to the colors and texture to the surfaces; her realization of the cozy community brings it to vivid life and knits the story together. Viewers will appreciate this sunny African alternative to "Over the River and Through the Woods," especially if readers-aloud make the comic most of the concluding speedy rewind that brings the sibs home again. DS