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Baby Ellen has many visitors soon after she is born - grandmas and grandpas, uncles and aunts, and “cousins by the dozen” all come to celebrate her birth. Ellen coos and burbles; the relatives ooh and aah.
It turns out that everyone has his or her own ideas about what Ellen will become. Uncle Otis thinks she will be a fisherman just like him, casting lines and reeling in whoppers. Aunt Clara thinks Ellen will be a dancer just like her, and learn to waltz, tango, and foxtrot like a pro. Uncle Peter thinks Ellen will be a bird-watcher and Aunt Rachel thinks she will be a scholar, while Uncle Tony wants her to be a pilot.
Soon they are all shouting out what she will do and be: “race cars!” “paint china!”, “landscapes!”, “pottery!” “tennis!”, “chess!”, and so on until the baby finally lets out an earthshaking howl. Ellen’s “listen-to-me-I’m-a-baby!” squall finally silences everyone in the room.
Her Mama picks her up and announces decisively that for now, Ellen will do just what Ellen wants to do. Everyone agrees that burbling, burping, sucking, cooing, yawning and babbling are all very good activities indeed…for baby Ellen.
This is a sweet book for a family with a baby on the way. Although Just Like a Baby pokes gentle fun at all the silly relatives, it also captures the genuine joy and excitement of the extended family at the baby’s arrival. The ink and watercolor illustrations by Christine Davenier contribute a great deal to the warmth and whimsy of the book.
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Just Like a Baby