Whose Baby Am I? (Viking Kestrel Picture Books) - Hardcover

John Butler is known and highly respected for his wildlife picture books. He has illustrated six titles for Puffin, all by Theresa Radcliffe. John lives in Kent with his wife and two grown-up daughters.

The responses by various animal offspring to the titular question in this volume is that each baby belongs to a loving mommy animal (e.g., "Whose baby am I?/ I am a panda baby"), and they inspire irresistible portraits. Butler's (Bashi, Elephant Baby) acrylic and colored pencil illustrations realistically capture nine achingly adorable animals. He infuses his renderings of the cotton puff-like owlet that opens the book, a sweetly gawky zebra calf and a polar bear cub with just the right amount of romanticism. Glints of lavender play in the animals' fur, the trace of a smile can be detected on a bill or mouth and the artist misses no opportunity to emphasize those huge, heart-tugging eyes. The book concludes with a spread that invites youngsters to match the babies with their mothers and a page that labels each offspring with its official name (a koala baby is called a joey, a seal baby is a pup, etc.). Ages 1-4.

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