Chilean author Paulina Jara introduces budding readers to the diverse and amazing ways animal babies can be born in Newborns, a merry and creative picture book translated from the original Spanish by Lawrence Schimel. Jara includes mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles among the 25 creatures showcased and Spanish illustrator Mercè Galí's striking illustrations lend a singular aesthetic to the book.
Young audiences will likely be captivated by the array of fascinating information included in both text and illustration. There are frogs that hatch in their father's mouth and leave via "a narrow opening under his tongue," kangaroos that weigh "only as much as a paper clip" at birth, and cuckoo birds that throw smaller birds out of the nest to be the center of attention. Readers learn the terms for the baby animals (joeys, cubs, pinkies, pups, calves), their gestation periods, and other "wild" facts. A chart at the end of the book allows readers to compare the gestation periods of all the animals in the book.
Jara highlights how awash with variety and life the natural world is in this delightful collection. Galí uses a distinct, broken line in her illustrations which allows color to bleed out of the animals and onto the page, creating a sense of movement and activity. The highly stylized art is simple yet exudes texture and depth. Newborns is a beautiful introduction to the wonders of animal life in the natural world and makes the science of procreation accessible to young minds. A perfect way to start incubating a respect and appreciation for all lifeforms. --Jen Forbus, freelancer