The Day the Babies Crawled Away by Peggy Rathmann, Peggy Rathmann

From the creator of Good Night, Gorilla comes another bedtime adventure! What a lovely day at the fair. Children lining up for pony rides . . . moms and dads in a pie-eating contest . . . babies chasing butterflies . . . babies heading for the trees . . . I SAY! Where are those babies GOING? Only a small boy sees them leaving and follows as the babies chase butterflies in trees, frogs in a bog, even bats in a cave, ignoring pleas to come back. But not to worry, our hero saves the day, making sure that all the babies get home safely from their appealing adventures. Caldecott Medal winner Peggy Rathmann has created a highly original story told in a lilting text and a bold new style with classic black silhouettes against stunning skies of many colors that change and glow as afternoon turns into evening. Editorial Reviews Caldecott Medalist Rathmann scores again with this rhymed tale of a child's struggles to chaperone a wayward flock of errant babies, illustrated in vivacious, finely-cut silhouettes. . . Rathmann tucks in plenty of visual byplay and jokes, and brings the episode to a cozy close with the lad curled up in his own mother's lap. At least as inventive and captivating as 10 Minutes Till Bedtime, this is bound to be a similar hit with children. --Kirkus Reviews * [A] rollicking rhyming tale, illustrated in needle-sharp, atmospheric silhouettes against twilight skies. . . Rathmann's poem never misses a beat, and her triumphant finale does not pass judgment on the parents; instead she praises the sleepy, baby-wrangling hero. --Publishers Weekly, starred review A pint-sized do-gooder goes to great lengths to round up a bunch of renegade babies who have wandered off and returns them to their parents. Marvelous backlit silhouettes convey the drama and the humor in this sublime slice of inspired silliness. --School Library Journal Rathmann uses an old-fashioned style of illustration in a new and dramatic way, telling the story through black silhouettes set against a glowing neon sky. The style isolates the important parts of the tale, highlighting each gesture and detail Rathmann wants us to see and eliminating everything extraneous. There are many repeating motifs for children to seek out in each spread, and viewers will notice many details missed earlier when they go through the book a second time. The theme of this fresh, original book appeals, too, as the young would-be firefighter gets to be the hero. --The Horn Book The conceit is clever, the artwork is creative and lovely, and children with patience and imagination will find a bit more to see than they might find in a book with conventional art. --Booklist - From the Publisher The Barnes & Noble Review In a daringly different style from her previous bestselling books, Caldecott Medalist Peggy Rathmann delivers this rollicking, eye-catching tale about a very odd day when the town's babies crawl their way to mischief. Using dramatic, black silhouette illustrations set against a multi-colored, glowing sky, Rathmann tells how We moms and dads were eating pies, The babies saw some butterflies -- And what do you know? Surprise! Surprise! The babies crawled away! Followed by one responsible lad who makes sure they don't get into too much trouble, the town's tots scoot up trees to watch some bees, crawl through a bog, play with bats in a cave, and eventually crawl on to a dangerous ledge. Thankfully, the boy comes to their rescue, But then -- My, oh my! How those babies began to cry! They were hungry, and tired, And their little mouths were dry! So with some quick thinking, the boy guides his team of toddlers back home, reuniting his little charges with their adoring parents who cheer You are our hero -- Have some pies! And we insist/ You've won FIRST PRIZE for saving the day/ When the babies crawled away! Rathmann fuels her storytelling with rolling rhymes that move the action along, while her artwork, with its bold, rather mysterious tone, conjures feelings of uneasy yet adventurous dusk-time escapades and fascinating small-town lore. This humorous, offbeat romp is a perfect companion to her previous tales Officer Buckle and Gloria and 10 Minutes till Bedtime. Shana Taylor - Matt Warner Sweet, funny, original and stunningly beautiful picture book...What makes the book special is the illustrations of the babies' adventures, all done in diamond-sharp black silhouette against a sky that deepens from cloudy blue through saffron-green, orange and pink to luminous violet, as night falls, and babies and heroic rescuer alike snuggle up with their moms.-Elizabeth Ward - The Washington Post The book itself is a pleasure, despite the hype. Rathmann does not let us down by resting on her artistic laurels and repeating herself. She is a real illustrator, who believes that pictures should illuminate, animate and follow the words that inspire them. For this reasonable reason, each of her books has a different look. This latest -- Rathmann calls it a ''ballad'' about a young child who saves five babies from running off on the day of a fair -- makes perfect material for a sentimental journey into the art of silhouetting. - Karla Kuskin - The New York Times Rathmann (Officer Buckle and Gloria) makes an innovative departure from her usual prose and pictures in this rollicking rhyming tale, illustrated in needle-sharp, atmospheric silhouettes against twilight skies. The initial spreads picture a lively neighborhood picnic and pie-eating contest with fluttering banners and an all-ages crowd. In voiceover, a parent reminisces about how you represented here as a boy in a firefighter's helmet had to save the day ... When the babies crawled away! The speaker admits she was caught off-guard: We moms and dads were eating pies, The babies saw some butterflies And what do you know? Surprise! Surprise! The babies crawled away! The adults do not witness their five babies' escape. But the alert boy notices, vainly tugs at his mother's shirt, then chases the runaways into a thicket: You hollered, `Hey! You babies, stay!' But none of them did. And some of them hid. The babies' shadowy figures never seem endangered; they blend with the tangled shapes of the branches, creating a hide-and-seek puzzle for their pursuer and for readers. Yet the boy senses their peril and consistently comes to the rescue. Rathmann's signature palette of zingy pink, lemon yellow and robin's egg blue deepen to sunset colors that imply time is tight; the flattened foreground includes a hillside with every blade of grass in stark relief, and the cavorting shapes of the children. Rathmann's poem never misses a beat, and her triumphant finale does not pass judgment on the parents; instead she praises the sleepy, baby-wrangling hero. Ages 2-6. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. - Publishers Weekly PreS-Gr 1-A pint-sized do-gooder goes to great lengths to round up a bunch of renegade babies who have wandered off and returns them to their parents. Marvelous backlit silhouettes convey the drama and the humor in this sublime slice of inspired silliness. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. - School Library Journal Caldecott Medalist Rathmann scores again with this rhymed tale of a child's struggles to chaperone a wayward flock of errant babies, illustrated in vivacious, finely-cut silhouettes. With the parents distracted by a pie-eating contest, only a small lad in a firefighter's helmet notices that five babies have crawled away from the picnic. Fruitlessly waving an admonitory finger, he follows as they clamber into a thick stand of trees, through a bog, into a cave, and over a cliff, collapsing at last for a nap in their exhausted pursuer's lap before letting him lead them back to joyful reunions. Posed against brilliantly lambent skies, each opaque, realistically rendered figure, from babies to butterflies and blades of grass, stands out distinctly; even the youngest viewers will have no trouble keeping track of who's up to what. Rathmann tucks in plenty of visual byplay and jokes, and brings the episode to a cozy close with the lad curled up in his own mother's lap. At least as inventive and captivating as 10 Minutes Till Bedtime, this is bound to be a similar hit with children. (Picture book. 5-8) - Kirkus Reviews