The Baby Swap by Jan Ormerod (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Baby Swap by Jan Ormerod Jeannette Hulick Ormerod, Jan The Baby Swap; illus. by Andrew Joyner. Little Simon, 2015 32p ISBN 978-1-4814-1914-7 $16.99 R 4-6 yrs Young Caroline Crocodile is jealous of her baby brother, so when her mother leaves the drooling baby reptile in Caroline’s care, Caroline heads to the Baby Shop in hopes of trading him in for a more satisfactory model. She first trades him for a baby panda, but when they go to a café for a snack, the panda eats his bamboo chair (and Caroline’s). Next she tries a baby elephant but a visit to a fountain ends in water everywhere and a broken fountain. Twin baby tigers seem cute but wreak havoc in the toy store. Finally she settles on swapping them back for her own baby brother, who has gained a tooth in her absence (“That is why he was dribbling!” she realizes). The premise in this Australian import of offloading an affection-usurping baby will have undeniable appeal among green-eyed older siblings. The sturdy structure of the storyline helps balance some of the situational ridiculousness, and there’s catharsis in the idea of temporarily giving away one’s sibling but reuniting in the end. Joyner’s art is a delight, with a retro sensibility (reminiscent of the work of H. A. Rey or Margaret Bloy Graham) in both the dynamic figures smudgily outlined in black and the muted tones of the coloration. Modern touches (such as a llama checking his smart phone while crossing the street) make it clear that this is the present day, however, and kids will enjoy poring over the details of the scenery. Use this to add a bit of bite to a babies-themed storytime, or pull it out to sympathetically share with an older sib once the shine has worn off that infant who’s taken over the household. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois