Pass the Baby

Illustrated by Raúl Colón
Published by Neal Porter Books
32 pages, Ages 4-8
Hardcover $18.99
ISBN: 9780823450855

★ Named one of the Best Multicultural Children’s Books of 2023 by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Books

★ A Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year and Book of Outstanding Merit 

One of Kirkus Reviews’ “10 Picture Books To Read Again and Again”

Signed copies of Pass the Baby are available at Sleepy Hollow Bookshop in Sleepy Hollow, NY; Hudson Valley Books for Humanity in Ossining, NY; Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY; Barrett Bookstore in Darien, CT; Books on the Common in Ridgefield, CT; and Byrd’s Books in Bethel, CT, while supplies last.

Or order now from:

Bookshop/IndieBound
Barnes and Noble
Amazon

A delightful meal with a big extended family becomes a free-for-all when one particularly excitable baby joins the fun.

Family dinner, set the table,
Forks and spoons and napkins too,
Knives and plates and water glasses,
Flowers, candles, bright and new.
Wait a minute, where’s the baby?
Someone’s playing peek-a-boo!

What does it take to make a perfect family meal? Is it the forks, spoons, plates, and napkins? Maybe it’s sister’s lemonade, Papi’s guacamole, or delicious meatballs and ravioli eyed by a hungry pup. When it’s time to sit down and dig in, there’s one thing everybody agrees they need to do, “Baby, baby, pass the baby!”

This rollicking, rhyming picture book about one (rather large) diverse family dinner table captures the buzz and hum of a shared meal, with one adorably excitable baby at its center. Author Susanna Reich imbues her text with an undercurrent of harmony, warmth and inclusivity, complimented by ebullient illustrations by Raúl Colón.

Praise for Pass the Baby:

“Utterly adorable and inarguably entrancing, this is a rhythmic little wonder just begging to be said aloud.”—Besty Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal

“A sweet reminder to siblings big and small that they are all important members of the family.” — Kirkus 

“Presented in an upbeat rhyming text, the child’s high jinks and her family’s attention and playfulness create a happy, festive environment…Adults will recognize the scenario while children delight in the baby’s (mis)behavior.”— Booklist, ★ Starred Review

“Convivial rhyming verse celebrates a family dinner whose star is its newest member…. [A] celebration of cooking and eating in a family in which the very youngest are cherished.” — Publishers Weekly