Shwatsit! by Christin Ditchfield Baby-PreK 40 pages Golden Books September 2009 Hardcover     When a little baby speaks her first word, her entire family exerts a significant effort to figure out what it means. Shwatsit! is not only the title of this new picture book but also the word the baby uses in reference to a number of things she sees. Can it means eggs, can it mean toast, or can it mean beans? Maybe she is referring to a backpack, a bus, or Joe the driver. It might even relate to a car or gas, but then the family travels to the park and decides their baby might be trying to say something about a balloon, a swing, a sandbox or a slide. At one point, each parent also wonders if the word might refer to one of them. Shwatsit! is a sweet story following one family’s search for the meaning of the term and all it could represent. The text is accompanied by charming illustrations of a loving family trying to encourage a little one as she starts to develop her communication skills, and it will make a welcome addition to any child’s book collection.     web reviews   Lori West/2010 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)