Hello Baby By Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas, Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2008. ‘Hello baby,’ I say quietly. ‘Hello’ Delightfully drawn in a soft and scribbly fashion, Hello Baby takes us on the journey of a family and a home birth. My sister read this book to my niece for years when she was younger, and she still loves it now. She was so excited to see a copy of it on my desk, so we went and snuggled and read it together again. This is a great book for families who are expecting another child. It is sensitively written to explain to children some of the things they might expect to see and experience before, during and after the birth. In Hello Baby, the whole family is involved in the birthing process, with the other children helping as well. Originally published in 1999, this book has been reprinted many times, which just goes to show that it’s popular! Awards Shortlisted for Picture Book of the Year, Children’s Book Council of Australia, 2000.

Australian Babies By Magabala Books, 2005. ‘Rich with the colours of the Kimberley landscape in Western Australia, the vibrant photographic images reflect Australia’s multicultural community.’ Australian Babies is a lovely little board book for babies and toddlers. It has ten pages with photographs of babies from diverse backgrounds who make up some of the heritage of babies in Australia today. There are things to look for and point out on each page, such as a dog, chickens, books, trees, rocks, shells, etc. It is small in size, 143 x 156 mm. It was a little bit difficult to rank this book based on the criteria we use to measure, as there were no words and the book was so small. We hope you like this book 🙂