BookBairn

To quote the national Bard:

"The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men

Gang aft agley"

And my plans for this week were well and truly scuppered but the British summer weather. Believe it or not this week was National Picnic Week - I know, perfect weather for a picnic. BookBairn and I had a little indoor picnic to celebrate and read a lovely recent book release.

What makes the perfect picnic? Personally, I would like a little bit of sunshine so that I don't have to eat soggy sandwiches! BookBairn happily settled for a plate of her favourite nibbles on our picnic rug and a fabulous new story book all cosied up inside.

In 'The Perfect Picnic' by Ciara Flood, Mole and Squirrel are planning a fabulous picnic with perfect sandwiches and perfect cake in the perfect spot. Mole and Squirrel are unlikely best friends. Squirrel likes things neat, tidy and perfect. Mole doesn't care about those things. Whilst preparing the picnic, Squirrel is preoccupied by making sure everything is perfect, right down to the butter on the sandwiches. Mole doesn't mind, he just wants to have a fun picnic. When they set off to find the perfect picnic spot, neither notices the hole in the backpack and their lunch gradually falls out all over the woodland. Returning to the very first spot they considered (this is all too reminiscent of Daddy BookBairn and I trying to choose restaurants whilst on holiday: we wander round and round and then return to the first menu we considered, having wasted half an hour, feet hurting and me developing a mean case of 'hangry'), they soon discover the hole in their plans. But will they manage to salvage their picnic? Fortunately, help is at hand and all the forest animals rally together to rescue the picnic.

This book is beautifully illustrated using a soft colour palette, perfect for a gentle summers day picnic. The pages are packed with details and much of the story is told through the illustrations: you would only realise about the hole in the backpack if you spotted it in the illustrations. I love the opening pages that show inside each characters house and take me back to my days pouring over the Jill Barkley's Brambly Hedge books. There is so much for little readers to explore! My favourite illustration has to be when Squirrel discovers the picnic treats have fallen out of the backpack: it is clearly based on Edvard Munch's The Scream. It made me laugh out loud: I love it when authors/illustrators add a little something to appeal to adults sense of humour too! The end pages of the book feature the map that Squirrel and Mole use to find the perfect picnic spot, which I think slightly older readers would love. You could follow their picnic trail and act out the story whilst on your own picnic. The characters are adorable and wonderfully expressive, especially Squirrel: you can see what he is thinking, it's written all over his face. Quite honestly, I love this pair! I would quite happily join them for their picnic.

It seems as though the sun may be returning, so perhaps we will actually enjoy a real outdoor picnic in the next week!

Happy picnicing, Mummy and BookBairn xx

*DISCLAIMER* I was given our book for free for review purposes, however, all words and opinions are my own.

It is National Smile Month! Smile!

Looking after BookBairn's teeth has provided many many smiles, as she giggles her way through tooth-brushing songs, sooks the toothpaste off the brush and gives it a good wiggle around. I love that she is beginning to look after her teeth by herself, thanks to this magic little toothbrush with a special grippy handle.

BookBairn has generally been quite good when it comes to teething. Her first tooth was one awful night of no sleep for the whole household but after that she's handled each new tooth like a pro. She's not a dribbler, or a chewer of any actual teething product, but boy does her bedtime buddy suffer with being chewed and sooked whilst those little pearly whites push their way through. The only real interruption to her routine is that she majorly goes off tooth-brushing, and I can't blame her. If my teeth were sore and gums were inflamed I wouldn't want anyone poking a toothbrush. But now we finally have those first molars.

Someone else who strives to look after their teeth is Alan the alligator. In 'Alan's Big Scary Teeth' by the wonderful Jarvis, Alan begins each day in the same way: polishing his scales, sharpening his nails and brushing his teeth. Coming from a long-line of very scary alligators, Alan loves spending his days rampaging through the jungle, scaring all the other jungle animals with his razor-sharp teeth. But what they don't know is that when he gets home every evening, Alan takes out his false teeth. Yes, false! When the other animals happen upon his secret, they pinch his precious falsies and hold them to ransom, insisting they he stop terrorizing them. And, from that the leopard learns to change his spots. Well, alligator changes his scales! Well, alligator finds a new purpose! Finding a great compromise between being friendly and still providing a few scare, despite his very not-scary smile!

This is a fabulous story that is filled to the brim with humour! I love the way Alan's speech is changed by his gummy smile: "Good night teeth. Thweet dweams my thscary thnappers". And that his snap becomes a pathetic "thnap thnap!"Jarvis's storytelling is perfectly pitched, written in an engaging way that makes it the perfect read-aloud story. The pace is fast and action-filled, with the big-reveal being perfectly timed so that little readers will enjoy the surprise!

But, for me, it is the illustrations that really make this story. Jarvis is an accomplished cartoonist and it is no surprise given the visual storytelling in this book. Layering pencil, chalk, paint and digital colour, each page is layered in lush colours, textures making the jungle feel deep and dense. The characters are cute and expressive and filled with humour.

I love the message in this book is that appearances can be deceiving! Alan thinks that his teeth are what make him important but when the animals discover the truth behind the teeth, Alan finds a way to be accepted for who he truly is. Growing up in a world full of instagram filters, make-up contouring, hair extensions, tooth whitening, veneers, plastic surgery and all other manners of falsely improving our appearance, this book is a lovely message that people will love you no matter what your appearance so long as you are true to yourself.

If you're looking for a book to make you smile, 'Alan's Big Scary Teeth' will certainly do the trick!

Mummy and BookBairn xx

We won our copy of 'Alan's Big Scary Teeth' in a Toppsta Giveaway. If you are interested in free books for younger readers, I highly recommend signing up to Toppsta where you enter to win a book in exchange for a short review. Click here for more information.

Father's Day is just around the corner and it seems like the perfect time to mention the many campaigns at the moment encouraging dads to read with their children.

Recent research from Harvard University revealed that children benefit more from their father reading bedtime stories as they spark more "imaginative discussions" and discuss the stories in such a way that leads to better language learning and development. (For more information on this, the original article I read is here.) You can see from the video below that reading with her daddy has certainly improved BookBairn's language skills. To be honest, I think children benefit from listening to stories no matter who read them but it is interesting research nonetheless. Daddy BookBairn has fully embraced our BookBairn-y household and we almost always read bedtime story as a family all together.

A video posted by BookBairn (@bookbairn) on May 29, 2016 at 7:43am PDT

With Father's Day approaching we have been collecting a lovely pile of books that are perfect for celebrating how wonderful dads are (whether they read aloud or not!). I shared one of our favourite dad books and we still love this story: 'I Love My Daddy' by Giles Andreae and illustrated by Emma Dodd is a beautiful ode to dads.

'Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada' by Jimmy Fallon with illustrations by Miguel Ordonez has been an instant hit in our house! Not only is it completely true that BookBairn's first word was "Dada" (her second was "book"!! Mama came a pitiful third - I know my place!) this book is a hilarious take on all fathers' secret campaign to ensure that their babies' first word is "Dada"! Each page features a daddy and a baby animal with the daddy saying "dada" and the baby responding with their appropriate animal sound, I won't spoil the end, expect to say that it's not a huge surprise whether this campaign is successful! (At least it wasn't to me). The absolute charm of this book is in the illustrations! They are beautifully simplistic with strong colours set in pastel backgrounds making each creature stand out on the page. The variety of expressions will appeal to grown ups from pleading dads to grumpy dads to desperate dads to angry dads, its fabulous! I must admit I was originally skeptical about this book as it was written by a celebrity I thought it might be 'lacking' for want of a better word but I have been proven wrong. This book is cute, funny and bang on point. Perfect for dads of little people who are yet to say their first word or for dads who love doing animal impressions (and we all know ones that do!).

The ' My Little World' series have done it again and again! This time, they have produced the wonderful 'I Love My Daddy' by Jonathan Litton and Fhiona Galloway. I have mentioned before how much we love these books with the finger-holes to add a fantastic textural element. Each page features a die-cut star that gradually gets smaller and smaller as you turn the pages, BookBairn loves to touch and play with this star using it to lift the pages in order the turn them by herself without skipping a page (which happens often when she is turning pages by herself). The characters in the story are adorably illustrated using bright colours and soft lines, each with large smiles! The children in the book are all enjoying spending time with their dad and celebrate their dads by sharing why they deserve a shiny star. This is a cheerful and rhyming tale of why children think their dad is special: an ideal story for celebrating dads on Father's Day!

I think all dads strive to be 'cool', at least in their kids eyes, which is why the title of our next book might make for the perfect gift for Father's Day (giving mums a good giggle in the progress). 'My Dad Used to Be so Cool' by Keith Negley flawlessly captures the relationship between a father and his young son. This is the story of a father who used to be a rock star (at least that's what the son believes) and therefore used to be 'cool' who has now traded in his rockstar lifestyle to raise his son. Of course, the little boy doesn't quite see it that way. He sees rock concerts, motorbikes and tattoos traded in for hoovering, the school run and the park. What could have possibly prompted such a change? The graphic illustrations use a bold colour pallette and have a retro/vintage feel to them that are truly striking amongst the picture book illustrations that you usually see. Featuring a fantastic fold-out spread, this is a beautifully emotive tale of the sacrifices of parenthood told in a way the children will understand with illustrations that will appeal to dad and kiddies alike!

For all those dads who love reading with their kids, there are several campaigns on the go at the moment to encourage dads to read with their children that might be worth checking out:

Penguin Books are running a competition under the hashtag #realdadsreadpicturebooks where you can win a prize pack of picture books and a $100 gift card (open internationally) by uploading a picture of your wee one reading with their dad to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter or uploading on the linked website. For more information click here.
On Instagram, @chickadee.lit and @storyaday are collating a book list and photos of dad's reading aloud under the hashtag #readalouddads.
BookTrust have a fabulous 'book finder' option with lots of suggestions for books to read and they have a special list of 'Great Picture Books for Dads to Read Out Loud' linked here.

Hope you all have a lovely Father's Day this weekend, we will certainly be celebrating with a bedtime story! Mummy and BookBairn x

*DISCLAIMER* I was given our copy of 'My Dad Used to be Cool' and 'I Love My Daddy' for free from the publisher for review purposes, however, all words and opinions are my own. I won a copy of 'Your Baby's First Word Will be Dada' on Toppsta.

BookBairn has a little book-obsession at the moment. It's Hamish McHamish in my 'I Love St Andrews' book by Carly Brown and Gillian Gamble.

For my Christmas my mum gave me a copy of this beautiful book and, quite honestly, I cried when I first read it. It more or less depicts the story of my life.

A young girl who spends her childhood holidays in St Andrews, who then goes on to study there and gets married in the incredible beautiful St. Salvator's Chapel, and at the end who promises to return soon (for those of you that know me, you will know that we returned over and over again until I convinced Daddy BookBairn to move as close as possible!). This book lives on my bedside table and I read it often to remind me of how grateful I am to have been so lucky to have lived a fairytale. Just to prove that I actually lived this book here are some illustrations from the book side by side with family snapshots.

BookBairn often comes in to our room and commandeers my precious book, enjoying flipping through the pages. She is hunting for the page featuring Hamish McHamish, a ginger cat, famous locally for his nomadic nature, spending his days exploring local business and homes, making many friends along the way.

We decided to go and visit the Hamish statue in the town square and read 'I Love St Andrews' making "miaow" noises as we read.

We also enjoyed the tale of 'Archie Snufflekins Oliver Valentine Cupcake Tiberius' by Katie Harnett. This is the endearing story of a cat who spends his days nomadically exploring his neighbourhood, Blossom Street. Each neighbour has a different name for the cat, hence the title of this story and each is oblivious of the others that the cat visits each day, thinking of him purely as 'their cat'. But there is one neighbour who has never been visited by the cat, or anyone else for that matter until one day she receives a parcel (of wool!!) which the cat has perched atop. To all the other neighbours, 'their cat' is now missing and each makes a poster and heads out in search of their furry friend. Soon they realise that they are all searching for the same cat! They all bundle onto the doorstep of number eleven and are greeted by a confused Mrs Murray, She lets them in and tells them all about the fun that her and the cat have been having and they decide that he has finally found his permanent home, so long as they are allowed to visit.

This is a sweet tale about loneliness, communities and friendship. Beautifully, illustrated with a diverse cast of characters, the story is set in a street that will look familiar to us all (we all know a Blossom Street). The cat in the story has some semblance to internet sensation, grumpy cat but with more fun and warmth. This is such a heart-warming story, and with subtle touches of humour, that will appeal to adults as much as children.

There are many similarities between this heartfelt tale and the story of Hamish McHamish, and I wonder if they wouldn't have made a cute furry couple!

Mummy and BookBairn xx

*DISCLAIMER* I was given our book for free for review purposes, however, all words and opinions are my own.

When is a book not a book?

Several years ago, I bought a convertible book for my nearly nephew, that built up into a truck and he adored it! So, I was delighted when Miles Kelly publishers got in touch to offer us a sneak preview of their newest convertible book. This new addition to the range is a beautiful submarine/underwater story book/playmat.

Written by Claire Philip and illustrated by Simon Abbott, this invention is truly ingenious! As a book, the story tells of a underwater adventure as the submarine and it's passengers travel towards a shipwreck, passing many sea creatures on their journey. The illustrations are bright and colourful and all the sea creatures are instantly recognisable even to little readers like BookBairn. She can easily point out the dolphins, turtle and whale and can be entertained for several minutes looking for the crab. I have no doubt that this book will advance her vocabulary for underwater creatures. As a story, I would say that it lacks a narrative and any real characters, instead being more of a tour of the ocean depths. This is where the ingenuity of a book that converts comes into play.

You can fold the entire book out flat as a long playmat which has a path for children to play with their own toys as they trace the path of the submarine from the story. And I'm now on the hunt for a submarine toy!

But the real star element of the 'book' is when you build it up, using the velcro straps, into a 'climb-inside' submarine. BookBairn now shouts "sub sub!" when she wants to climb inside and explore the depths of the ocean. She enjoys spotting the sea creatures, looking through the porthole, lifting the front up and down and opening and closing the door. She is still a bit too young to really 'role play' but she does enjoy playing with her toys inside, and even flipping through the pages of her other books.

I love that this 'book' is so engaging, colourful and vibrant, introducing sea creatures to my little BookBairn! I am surprised by how robust the submarine has proved to be, it is sturdy and strong ensuring that even with a bit of rough play it will endure, this submarine isn't going to take on water easily.

The idea of a convertible book truly is ingenious. For us, we haven't really explored the book element particularly much, as BookBairn sees this as more of a toy, always wanting the submarine built up to play inside. This is probably reflective of her age (she's nearly 15 months - where did my baby go?) and the publishers do suggest that their convertible range is aimed at children aged 3+. I imagine that older children would love to let their imaginations run wild as they go on their underwater adventures. However, we've still had plenty of fun out of it!

Miles Kelly have a whole range of these wonderful convertibles from cars to tractors to spaceships (to see the full range click here). Something for every adventure!

Climb onboard for your own adventure! Mummy and BookBairn xx

BookBairn really enjoyed watching
her favourite TV show 'Hey Duggee'
from inside the submarine.

*DISCLAIMER* I was given our convertible book for free for review purposes, however, all words and opinions are my own.

The sun has finally arrived in Scotland, it seems it took a little longer to reach us than the rest of the UK, but I won't grumble because, despite the duller weather, we live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world!

BookBairn recently got her very first pair of shoes (Mummy was more excited than her but, it's ok, she will learn to love shoes as much as mummy, just like she has with books) and is now ready to toddle and explore the great outdoors. So far, much of her experience outdoors has been from a baby carrier or her pram (read more about this here) and whilst this is great, she's getting a much more hands-on experience of the world now!

We recently went (pre-new-shoes) for her first toddle along the beach and when we tweeted the pictures, the lovely Fiona Barker sent us a copy of her book to celebrate! Before we review the book, can I just say that Fiona also sent a lovely handwritten letter that made me feel like a marvelous mummy! So, a personal message to you Fiona: thank you! It's not the easiest being a mummy, and at times it feels like I'm 'winging it' or bumbling along, making mistakes along the way, so when someone gives you that proverbial 'pat on the back' it feels like a warm hug! Thank you!

'Amelie and the Great Outdoors' is the story of a little girl who never ventures outside, preferring to play on her own indoors. Like many children, Amelie loves her toys, computer games and television, none of which she could find in 'the Great Outdoors' and, like most parents, Amelie's parents tried many ways to get her to choose to play outside but to no avail! One day, a little bird, named Barlow, begins to visit Amelie's windowsill to tell her of all his adventures: from the beach, to the park, to the farm fields. He comes and goes, through all seasons: from autumn bonfire celebrations to winter snowmen. Until one day his visits stop. Amelie wonders if he is "lost out there somewhere in the Great Outdoors" and when she goes in search of she discovers something wonderful!

Amelie is a character that many children will relate to! And I'm sure many parents can sympathise with Amelie's parents efforts! Personally, I adore Barlow as he reminds me of that little robin in the Mary Poppins film, just hopping along the windowsill of the children's nursery! Rosie Brooks has illustrated this book beautifully, capturing the magic of a child's bedroom in contrast to the magic of the Great Outdoors.

This is a wonderful story to gently encourage little ones who are reluctant to adventure outside, or feel anxious about new experiences! This heart-warming and thoughtfully told story is a great way to foster a love of the outdoors and we highly recommend enjoying this story al fresco, in the garden, park or at the beach!

BookBairn also enjoys a
computer game with her daddy
from time to time!

As we approach the better weather, or should I say as the better weather approaches us (?), I hope BookBairn and I will be spending much more time outdoors!

Happy outdoor reading,

Mummy and BookBairn xx

*DISCLAIMER* I was given our book as a gift from the author, however, all words and opinions are my own.

For May's #2016ClassicChallenge I plan to read The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. But best laid plans... Whether I will actually manage to read it this month is another question as I have a large book for my book group to read alongside a pile of library books which are due back soon! I'll try! And if I don't I'll add it to next month's reading.

BookBairn, on the other hand, has been reading lots of tiger-y books!

'Goodnight Tiger' by Timothy Knapman and illustrated by Laura Hughes is a funny bedtime story with characters that truly come alive. Many children struggle to fall asleep, but few have the troubles that Emily experiences in this story. The animals in Emily's jungle wallpaper can't sleep and they are keeping Emily awake with all the stomping, bellowing, trumpeting and growling. Emily climbs into the wallpaper to sort them out, taking them through her bedtime routine: bath, hot chocolate, a bear to cuddle, lullaby and bedtime story. However, a bath in the jungle is not quite as we would expect; the jungle animals find their hot chocolate rather muddy-tasting; and the lullaby is incredible noisy can be heard across the jungle. The bedtime story, however, seems to do the trick. But the tiger needs something more help to fall asleep!

What a lovely story for reinforcing bedtime routines with little ones. And I love that the bedtime story is the most effective and important part of the routine in this book. It's true for BookBairn too! BookBairn knows our bedtime routine so well that she sometimes gets grumpy when we take slightly too long to get all those poppers on her sleepsuit done, she's just desperate to get her milk and story. This story is beautifully illustrated and it is magical when Emily steps inside her wallpaper and the jungle comes to life! The characters are far from the fierce-some jungle animals they represent, with friendly eyes and smiles and soft colours, they are exactly the sort of creature BookBairn would like to have cuddled up in her cot. I would like, in particular, to point out that Emily wears pink bunny slippers throughout the story - what's not to like about this character?

For lots of parents to babies and toddlers, sleep and bedtime routines can be stressful, I'm just glad BookBairn doesn't have jungle wallpaper to contend with, otherwise it could have been a lot tougher!

In 'Squish Squash Squeeze' by Tracey Corderoy and illustrated by Jane Chapman, Mouse is delighted to move into his new house. What he doesn't know is that lurking around each corner is one unexpected roommate after another! A bear growling beside the piano, a crocodile snapping in the bathtub, and a tiger sliding down the banister, this house is bursting at the seams. How will Mouse fit them all in? By making the pages of the book bigger with a pop-up pull-out final page, of course!

A brilliantly funny new release from the author/illustrator team that wrote 'The Little White Owl', which was a favourite story of my class of primary two (aged 7-8 years old), this book is equally as appealing. Chapman captures the expressions of the animals perfectly, who look equally as surprised as you would to find a crocodile in your bath. I love that the characters are over-sized and out of proportion to the page, making them all seem as squashed into the page as they are to the house. BookBairn was delighted to pull-out the pop-up page and likes to re-read the final page over and over again. I think she would have just enough room to climb inside and join the Tiger, Bear and Crocodile, and she would if she could!

I think we might just squish, squash and squeeze this one into our bookshelf!

'Augustus and His Smile' by Catherine Rayner is a special 10th Anniversary edition that features a beautiful gold-foil slipcover which truly highlights the beauty of the story! I hadn't discovered this book before but I'm so glad that I have now. It is the tale of a tiger who has sadly lost his smile and he sets off to find it. He explores the jungle looking for it, from the forest floor to the tops of the tallest trees, her climbs mountains and looks amongst the clouds, he swims to the bottom of the deepest oceans, he crosses the vast desert, searching and searching everywhere until it begins to rain, creating puddles. Tiger looks down into the puddle and remembering the fun of his adventures, and the beauty in the world, he re-discovers his smile.

The beauty of the story is in it's use of language and beautiful layout, making it feel more like a poem than a story. It's illustrations are absolutely stunning and create a real feel of movement across the pages. Rayner truly captures the beauty of these environments in all their glory. The illustrations are deceptively simple, which perfectly portrays the message that we should appreciate the beauty of the world and the simple happiness it can bring us when we open our eyes to it. This book is a wonderful example of how art and stories can open us to discussions about emotions and how to cope with difficult emotions, such as sadness, to little readers.

The magic of this story is that it will appeal to adults equally as it appeals to children.

We have also been reading 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea' by Judith Kerr, but I will review this for our next 'Story Book Classic' post! BookBairn keeps choosing it over and over at naptime at the moment so I had to mention it too!

There are only 3000 tigers left in the wild and I greatly hope that BookBairn will grow up appreciating these majestic and wild creatures and will not have to see them become extinct in her lifetime. I am delighted that Little Tiger Press has paired up with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's TigerTime. For every copy of the 10th Anniversary edition of 'Augustus and His Smile' sold, a donation is made to the foundation (for more information click here). What can be better than a books that makes you feel good that also does good?

Do you have any favourite tiger tales to share? Please let us know in the comments below.

Happy reading, Mummy and BookBairn xx

*DISCLAIMER* I was given these books from the publisher for free for review purposes, however, all words and opinions are my own

Up until very recently, I've always thought that buggy books were a bit gimmicky and that babies didn't really bother with them other than as a teether. This week, BookBairn has totally proved me wrong. Whilst she has always adored books, our buggy books were more an accessory than something fun to play with. Until now!

I attached a Peter Rabbit board book to her car seat and she surprised me one day by shouting "rabbit rabbit" from the back seat. Of course, I thought to myself, she couldn't possibly have seen a rabbit from the car but, when I glanced in my mirror, I realised that she had her wee nose inside a book!

Over the past few weeks, BookBairn has become rather fascinated by the pedestrian crossings (I'll admit I have been encouraging her here as I believe it's never to early to learn red means stop and green means safe to go!). Last year, one of the books that Scottish babies got free in their baby Bookbug bag (for more info click here) is called 'Out and About', and each page features things you might see out on a walk in the buggy, such as cars, vans, and the green man! She loves to turn to this page and say "beeb beeb beeb" just like the crossing does. She even spots the crossings when we are out and about now!

On Friday, the lady behind the counter in our pharmacy said "she looks like she's really reading that" and I exclaimed "she is" in response. BookBairn has mastered many animal words, particularly farm animals, which is why she loves "Baby Animals" by Rod Campbell. Packed full of all the animals that she knows best she loves flicking through the pages and saying their names.

I am converted! Buggy books are a great way to keep wee readers busy whilst out for a walk and also helping to expand vocabulary and strengthening prior learning. I couldn't help but notice that our local Waterstones has a wonderful section dedicated to buggy books and there are lots to choose from. Perhaps I should top up our collection!?

We recently borrowed a wonderful book from the library all about babies in buggies, back-packs and slings out for walks with family and friends called 'Babies Don't Walk, They Ride' by Kathy Henderson and Lauren Tobia. This book is beautifully illustrated with busy scenes of babies out for the day! The babies are not only in buggies, but also on tube trains, in trolleys , car seats and slings: such a superb reflection of all the different options for taking your babies for a walk. The illustrator has paid attention to so much detail: families of all different shapes, sizes, colours and ethnicities set in scenes of everyday life from the park to the supermarket. "Riding, gliding, sliding, strolling... Bumping, flying, cruising, rolling..." that's the reality for our babies. This is truly a joyful celebration of modern babyhood!