This Baby. That Baby. by Cari Best, Rashin Kheiriyeh
Published by Anne Schwartz Books on 2024
ISBN: 0593564634
Genres: Babies/Infants, Emotions & Feelings
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Two charming babies are growing up in urban apartments that face each other. In this adorable book, illustrated with acrylic & oil on paper, This Baby and That Baby experience similar but sometimes opposite activities in their daily schedules. They both eat, play, nap, and go out to the park with their parents. However, where This Baby goes to sleep easily and wakes up sad, That Baby is reluctant to nap and wakes up grumpy. Throughout the book, the boy’s mother and the girl’s father, each caregiving alone, are portrayed as loving, joyful parents. When they meet at the park at the end of the story, the babies recognize each other and play peekaboo together while the exhausted parents collapse on a park bench in the amusing final picture. With its gentle humor and positive attitude towards a range of emotions, this book would be a fun read-aloud for pre-school to first-graders.

Reviewed by Crystal Wilder, University of Southern Maine, Gorham Campus Library