What happens when Baby discovers a big basket of bright yellow bananas? She eats them for breakfast, of course, and accidentally begins a bumpy adventure on Brother’s bicycle. The beats in his headphones keep him from noticing his baby sister in the back as he rides through the busy village. Brother and Baby pass by beautiful birds, butterflies and baboons on the way to Baba’s bungalow.

B is for Baby is an adorable picture book for ages 3-7 that is written by Atinuke with vibrant illustrations by Angela Brooksbank. Using short “b is for …” statements, Atinuke helps children to expand their vocabulary with words such as “baobab”, “bungalow” and “bougainvillea” while Brooksbank’s illustrations reveal the plot beautifully from page to page. The book was shortlisted for the BookTrust Storytime Prize 2020 and is the winner of the Parents Choice Foundation Silver Award 2019.

Below is a video of Atinuke (and Mattie) reading B is for Baby for BookTrust:

*Review copy of B is for Baby kindly provided by the publisher.

B is for Baby

Written by Atinuke

Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

Walker Books, 2019

ISBN: 9781406371086

Page count: 40

Reviews: Kirkus, Publishers Weekly

Lebohang Masango is a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology, an award-winning children’s author and poet. Her debut, Mpumi’s Magic Beads is translated in all 11 official South African languages and has been awarded a South African Literature Award, among others. Her other titles include Grow to be Great: Awesome African Achievers, co-authored with Dr Judy Dlamini, and Mpumi and Jabu’s Magical Day, co-authored with Professor Claudine Storbeck. She tweets at @lebohangwrites.