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Our stripy baby ISBN: 9781405022118
Metcalf, Paula and Shields, Gillian
Published by Macmillan, 2006
When the fourth person is about to be born into the Moon family, Zara is very excited and pleased. But then the new baby comes home. Zack doesn't have spots like the other Moons and Zara's friends. He has stripes. 'Can't we send him back?' she asks. She finds him an embarrassment and doesn't want her friends to see him. Zack is different in other ways too - he can't 'wiggle his bobbles' or 'waggle his nose'. What he can do is smile and blow kisses. The Moon family is very sad about Zara's reaction to her little brother: 'I wish he wasn't our baby!' But she comes to realise that stripes and spots don't matter and that Zack is beautiful 'like a rainbow' and lovable just as he is. The purple-creature Moon family teach us an important lesson, and they will provide reassurance to children with a 'different', possibly disabled, sibling. The illustrations are soft and confident and full of light. A delightful and important book.
Age: 4+