Babies are Boring, by Jon Ritchie, illustrated by Alex Ritchie

Babies Are Boring
By Jon Ritchie, illustrated by Alex Ritchie
Purple Possum Publishing Inc.; $11.95
40 pp.; ISBN-13: 978-0980997002

Review by Amy Brozio-Andrews

The guys at Purple Possum Publishing have got it right -- "Kids books are for parents too!" Okay, maybe the majority of kids books aren't intentionally for parents, but as any parent who's read Green Eggs and Ham hundreds of times can attest, at some point, you're looking to find just a little something for yourself in a picture book, 'cause you're probably not going to get a chance to pick up that new bestseller you've been eyeing. A sliver. A sentence. One iota of recognition that life is not all Dick and Jane. All. Day. Long.

Herewith, then, is Babies Are Boring. (C'mon, you're among friends here, it's okay to admit it. We won't tell.) For any parent who's ready to tear out her hair or wonders if this is all there is, Jon Ritchie's book tells it like it is, and then quietly reminds you of how good you've got it.

Babies Are Boring's rhyming text begins with asking where your old life went, and then launches into a laundry list of what a new parent's days are made up of now: laundry and bottle-making, rocking and soothing, diaper changes and meal times, sibling rivalry and crying jags (the kids', not yours). Once Ritchie's got you in agreement, about halfway through the book, there's a subtle but important shift in tone: amidst all the chaos of family life, "there are tiny, shiny moments almost too small to be seen." Laughing and smiling, blowing raspberries and quickly growing children. Coming to the inevitable conclusion that there's no one else you'd rather be in this boat with ends i on a sweet note.

The small size appealing equally to parents and older siblings alike, the paper pages aren't great for the youngest readers; it's not a board book that will stand up to teething, tearing, and throwing. But printed on FSC-certified paper in Canada using vegetable inks, Babies Are Boring is a book you can feel good about buying. Petite enough to fit comfortably in one hand, and big brothers and sisters will find it just the right size for sharing with younger kids. Illustrator Alex Ritchie's colorful and humorous artwork is attention-getting. Page after page of hand-drawn animal families are depicted doing all the ordinary daily things every family does. Alex Ritchie's art is characterized by expressive eyes and high-intensity action scenes. In one scene, a parent hedgehog is curled around the babies all asleep -- that is, except for the one who's still wide-eyed and grinning, ready to make a run for it. In another scene, a whale tickles her calf's belly by blowing bubbles under the youngster, while in a third, a mother duck watches one poor hatchling stagger around with the shell still over his head.

Structuring the story as he does, Jon Ritchie's book gives voice to older siblings who may have mixed feelings about the new baby in the house. And the littlest readers of all will simply enjoy being read to by Mommy and Daddy. While some moms and dads may not appreciate the irreverent (if still true) approach of Babies Are Boring, for many of us, reading the book acknowledges the reality of parenthood while affirming that come what may, there's still no place we'd rather be.