Baby Dear

by Esther Burns Wilkin, Eloise Wilkin (Illustrator)

Baby Dear is my brand-new baby doll. Daddy brought her to me on a very special day. It was the day he brought....

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Sisters, Classics, Juvenile

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Gina]

This is my most loved book in the whole world and has been since I was a young girl. I first saw it at my friend's house when I was about ten and I longed to buy it but couldn't find a copy in the stores. She lent it to me for some time and I was so pleased. When I was in my twenties, I found a copy and was so happy to actually own it. I now have three copies and cherish each one. My favourite picture in the book is the one depicting the mother with her new baby daughter in the pram and her older daughter with Baby Dear in her carriage. There is a little dog frolicking about with them as they all walk on a country road. This book embodied and represented to me a dream and hope that one day I would be the mother in that picture with my daughter and we would be walking with our babies. This came true - right down to the dog and the country road!

As my daughters were growing up, I bought more of Eloise Wilkin's books because I love, love her illustrations of babies and children. My husband and I read all of the books over and over to our daughters and then they read them themselves and the books found new homes on their shelves. Gradually, I reclaimed the books as our daughters grew older and then grew up and presently the collection, albeit a little tattered, is in a special place on my bookshelf again. Now, at almost fifty eight years old, I still love reading them and am always misty eyed when I look upon that beloved illustration of my dream come true in "Baby Dear".

[Phoenix2]

Love this book!! It's not only because the drawings are beautiful, but also because my mother used to read this one to me before my baby sister arrived. Actually, she even bought me a doll just like the little girl in the book and she gave it to me when I visited her to the hospital to see my baby sister. So, I guess, this is a good book for parents to prepare their older ones for the arrival of a new baby (it worked for me at least).

[MaryEve]

My all-time favorite Little Golden Book. Loved this book so much as a little girl. I drove my mother crazy because I wanted to read this book every night. Having to share storytime with my brother (who didn't want to hear about baby dolls), I threw more than one tantrum over this book. My brother even bit me when I demanded this to be read. When I learned to read in Kindergarten, winning my class Accelerated Reading program, this was on the list! I was obsessed. In later years, I purchased this book for my granddaughter Vivienne. I couldn't wait to share this book with a little. I was sure she'd love it as much as me. Her response: little to no reaction. However, she was perplexed at my enthusiasm. "You like that book, huh, Mimi?!"

Yes, sweet girl. I love this book.

[Kellyn Roth]

I used to have my mom read this to me over and over and over again when I was small. :)

[Aidan Mills]

Loved the sequence of events the ending was absolutely brilliant!!

[Kris Dersch]

Okay, yeah. It's dated. I bet it probably felt dated in the 1960s when it came out, it was definitely dated by the 1980s when I read it and it is for sure dated now. No one lives like this. No one's world is like this.
I don't care.
This was my *favorite* book when I was a small child. I wasn't a big sister nor was I even that in to dolls but something about the relationship between the little girl and her mom just got me. We still read this book in my home, dated or not, and my little guy still loves it a lot.
What can I say? Can't let it go.

[Beth E]

From an early age, I basically considered this book my biography.

I was two when I got my new baby sister and the best baby doll in the world, a few months apart.

This sweet story of a little girl mimicking her mother by taking care of her baby doll really spoke to me. My mother read me this book until it had to be duct taped together.

I still have my original copy, as well as the doll I considered my "Baby Dear." I would love to get a fresh new copy as well some day.

[Cara Byrne]

Mom comes home from the hospital after giving birth dressed in heels while her older daughter waits in a wood-paneled foyer with lamp in the shape of a native American's head. The central story of _Baby Dear_ is about a little girl who learns to mother a baby doll as she watches her mother take care of her new sibling, but it's hard to get past the visual elements that further ostracizes those not represented or presented in ridiculous ways in Golden Books of this period.

[Brent]

Part of being a parent is encountering children's books in a new way, even older ones.
Our kid loved this, and I learned to love books illustrated by Wilkin.

[Shawn]

I have loved this book since I first learned to read. A little girl is given a doll by her father on a very special day. It’s the day that her mother comes home with her new baby sister. Together mother and daughter bathe their babies, sing to them, take them out in strollers. This book REALLY made me want a baby sister (never got one.) In addition, the house the little girl lived in was big and beautiful. I’d spend hours looking at the detailed illustrations portraying a simple, gentle life. To this day, it still calms me.

You can’t find this book anymore. I’ve tried. I’m thankful I still have 2 copies, though neither are in great shape. One is missing the cover and at some point I wrote “Baby Dear” on the blank first page, in crayon. They probably aren’t worth much money, but they are priceless in the memories I have of my mom reading to me.

[Jenna's Mom]

This is one of Jenna's very favorite books and has been since she was around 2 yrs. old. She loves anything to do with babies and this book is no exception! In the story, a little girl (probably 3 or 4 years old) gets a special dolly when her new baby sister comes home from the hospital. She names her dolly Baby Dear and takes care of Baby Dear just like her mom takes care of the new baby.


The 5-Star review is on Jenna's behalf...I don't think I would rate it as high, at least not by today's standards. It is pretty "old school" - mom is wearing heels when she brings the new baby home from the hospital and is seen with heels and a dress on throughout the story, even when she is taking the new baby for a walk.

[Elizabeth Houchen]

I enjoyed this book because the little girl had a doll that she loved very dearly. Everything that her mother did with the baby the little girl did with her baby doll. If the mother went for a walk with the baby, the little girl went for a walk with her doll. Anything that her mother did for the baby, the little girl did for her doll. At the end of the story the little girl says that the baby is her baby sister. She also says that someday when her baby sister gets older, then the little sister will be able to hold the doll. It is very sweet and shows the love she has for her sister and her doll.

[Karen]

This is actually in a Little Golden Book collection called Sleepytime Tales, that we have.

They don't produce stories like this anymore!! It is really a cute story about a little girl who gets a baby doll the same day her baby sister comes home from the hospital. Mommy and daughter take care of the babies together - feed them, change them, walk them, love them. This truly is how little girls should learn to take care of babies - by mimicking their mothers!

It is obviously an old story - the illustrations are very 50's...and I love them. :)

[Travel Writing]

Such a traditional "family' story by today's standards, but this was my favorite book when I was a kid. I just purchased it on ebay and am ridiculously looking forward to receiving it.
Ironically, I was the youngest, so no new babies came after me and I never wanted, nor did I have children, but this sweet story of a young girl given her own 'baby' to care for when a new baby comes to the family still delights me.

[Marya]

I can fully understand why my friend is terrified of dolls after reading this book. In fact, I had to choose another book for our bedtime story, fearing this one would leave the little one with nightmares. It is super dated too; sure, it models some good basic behavior on interacting with babies, but it also suggests a never ending trap of domesticity that completely removes the father. I don't think I even bothered with the disclaimers on this one.

[Esther May]

My parents gave me this book sometime when there was a new baby in our home. It is about a little girl who takes care of her baby doll while her mom takes care of the new baby. When I had my second baby my sister gave me another copy of this book, I read it to my children all the time. It is such a cute story. Copies of this book start at around $20.00.

[Shelly]

When I was in daycare one of the ladies who worked there gave me this book as a gift. I still have it and love it and plan to read it to my kids when I have them. Being given this book inspired me to learn to read sooner than my normal age group and made me into the book lover I am today. It's a sweet little children's book with adorable artwork and I'd recommend it to any child.

[Janice]

Yes I have two copies and I read them both to make sure they were the same. One is titled Baby Dear the Newer one is The New Baby. My opinion is they should have kept the same name, as they have another one titled The New Baby. It is written by Ruth and Harold Shane and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. It is just as cute as this one. Both are in my top Little Golden Books.

[Michelle Ham]

We have this book at home but it's terribly battered, so I'd like a new copy, especially in light of the new baby arriving soon. It's a gorgeous, old fashioned book - no working Mums or designer baby clothes involved here!

[Jennifer]

Baby Dear was my favorite early childhood book. My copy fell apart at the binding, and it was reinforced with masking tape. In high school, my mom and I found another copy and bought it. Such a wonderful story.

[Alicia]

My mom read this to me when my brother was born. Loved the book, hated my brother. Its ok, we're friends now!

[Jane Lee]

I loved this book so much when I was little - maybe because I felt like I was the little girl that was taking care of her baby doll. Sweet, sweet book.

[Sally]

I love this book! I even had a Baby Dear doll when I was young. I also have my original Baby Dear book. What a treasure!

[Holly]

My allllll time favorite book.

[Stephanie]

Such fun to read how children mimic their children to gain understanding and skills. Eloise Wilkin does it again in the beautifully illustrated book.

[Megan]

I remember having this book as a kid.

[Becky]

One of my favorites from my childhood.

[Margaret Chind]

Another one from our Eloise Wilkins treasury. This is another great story to bring out with a theme of new baby. Great for my daughters.

[Amanda]

Still one of my very favorites. Was read to me all the time as a child and I read it until I got too "grown up". A must read for any expectant mommy with a little one at home.

[Alyssa]

One of my absolute favorite books as a small child. I even named my doll "Baby Dear"! The illustrations are soooo sweet and pretty!! Looking forward to someday sharing this book with my daughter. :D