Where Did that Baby Come From?

Gliori, Debi. Where Did that Baby Come From? Orlando: Harcourt, 2005. ISBN 0152053735 $16.00
Amber Shook

Using rhyming four-line stanzas, the author, Debi Gliori, captured a beautiful array of descriptive words to describe the confusing feelings of a young tiger cub meeting his new baby brother cub for the first time. Repeatedly the tiger cub asks “where did that baby come from?” He randomly comes up with his own ideas where the baby came from and why his parents should have left the baby there: “Did you find it in the zoo? You did not heed the “Please Don’t Feed” and brought it home with you.” With this stanza mentioned, the baby cub is sitting in a high chair and has food thrown all over the floor, and around this scene is a puzzle of trees filled with monkeys and even the baby cub is depicted as a monkey! Eye-popping detailed illustrations reinforce the little cub’s imagination. At some points there is an abundance to look at and you must stop just to explore! Anyone who has ever had a younger sibling would enjoy the humor and the soothing, satisfying outcome; the little tiger cub bonds with the new baby one night when he realizes he can calm the baby’s cries. Then he understands that the baby is just like him.