What a lovely day at the fair. Children lining up for ponyrides . . . moms and dads in a pie-eating contest . . . babieschasing butterflies . . . babies heading for the trees . . . I SAY!Where are those babies GOING? Only a small boy sees them leavingand follows as the babies chase butterflies in trees, frogs in abog, even bats in a cave, ignoring pleas to come back. But not toworry, our hero saves the day, making sure that all the babies gethome safely from their appealing adventures.

Caldecott Medal winner Peggy Rathmann has created a highly originalstory told in a lilting text and a bold new style with classicblack silhouettes against stunning skies of many colors that changeand glow as afternoon turns into evening.

From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 1. Caldecott Medal-winner Rathman tries somethingdifferent here, but she isn't altogether successful. The exuberanttext is directed to a young boy with the rescuing sensibility ofHolden Caufield, who catches wandering babies: "Remember the way /You tried to save the day? / You hollered, "HEY! / You babies,Stay!" Alas, none of them do; instead they crawl off to chase beesand scramble onto a ledge. The fun is in the oversize pictures withsilhouette images set against gloriously colored, subtly shadedbackgrounds. These illustrations, reminiscent of the art in JanPienkowski's books about Christmas and Easter, may be difficult forlittle children to absorb. Not only must kids read details into theflat, black silhouettes, but they will also find that some objectsare so small they are hard to discern. In addition, though the textis peppy, it can be difficult to read aloud. Is the book worthbuying? Yes. The conceit is clever, the artwork is creative andlovely, and children with patience and imagination will find a bitmore to see than they might find in a book with conventional art.Ilene Cooper
Copyright ? American Library Association. All rightsreserved

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-While the grown-ups are immersed in pie eatingand other outdoor carnival festivities, their babies crawl away.The only one to observe this phenomenon is a toddler in a fireman'shat who follows them and saves them from such disasters as batcaves, cliff-hanging, and hunger, along the way shouting veryresponsible warnings and imprecations to "behave." When he bringsthem safely home, he is, of course, a hero. In the penultimatespread, it transpires that the tale is the boy's fantasy storyretold by his loving mother just before he falls asleep. The babiesand their adventures are rendered in stunning, sharply detailed,Pienkowski-like silhouette against a subtly changing backdrop thatreflects the time of day. The boy's fireman's hat makes him easy tofollow on each spread and also conveys his gallant status. Thisbook has levels of complexity. Adults may be put off by the seemingparental neglect, but children will doubtless latch on to and enjoythe fact that the hero is a child, that none of the escapees seemsin any real jeopardy, that the softly glowing pastel backgroundslend a mood of unruffled calm, and that the story is, after all,fanciful. The verse doesn't always scan and occasionally does notrhyme, but oh those beguiling babies-they're irresistible!-KateMcClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT
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