Baby Radar

by Naomi Shihab Nye, Naomi Shihab Nye

What will you see?
Everything!
Who will you meet?
Everybody!
What will you smell
from way down there?
Lots!
What will you find?
Things that are:
soft, wet, furry, sweet.
How will you feel?
Fast. Slow. Small. Big.
Alive.
Come out, out
into the world
on wheels . . .
until it's time to
come home again.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2003

About the author

Naomi Shihab Nye was born to a Palestinian father and an American mother. During her high school years, she lived in Ramallah in Jordan, the Old City in Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas, where she later received her B.A. in English and world religions from Trinity University. She is a novelist, poet and songwriter.

She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas. She was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets in 2010.

Reviews

[Andrea Blancas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An innovative point of view! Maybe more for older toddlers (mine is 18 mos and would no
longer engage after the first few pages), but it was such a fun and energetic read for me. This books reminds me that Naomi Shihab Nye is the matriarch of wonder! The illustrations are perfect too! I can’t wait to read this to my little one when he has a longer attention span.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story from toddler's perspective.

It's cute. It's a prose poem from the point of view of a toddler taking a walk with her mother in a stroller, and all the different things she sees on the way. It doesn't seem too far from what might be going through the mind of a child that old. It's pretty realistic, with commonplace things that she and her mother run into, like cats, dogs, pigeons, and the sound of a broom. Everybody's on wheels! It's fun! Everyone's shoes. Wanting to grab anything.

It's just fun. There's nothing really to it, and no real point, but it captures the feel, at least as far as an outsider can, of the mind of a young child who is walking but not yet speaking in complete sentences.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Board book)

I thought this was a little mature for "babies" especially since the child in the story is much closer to a toddler. I liked the idea of the baby radar though, seeing everything from their level (shin height) and how they react. The story is written in a nonsensical style with strange spacing and no puncuation that I didn't always like. However, sometimes it worked really well, "Tennis shoes daddy shoes sleepy slippers fat shoes crazy shoes high-up heels fancy-dancy shiny shoes/i>"

[Mindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of this book, and I was excited to share one of my favorite poets with my toddler. Somehow it didn't quite work for us, though. I tried to read it aloud, and it felt uneven. I tried to use the illustrations to engage my daughter, and there wasn't enough for her to identify and label to keep her interested. It's too bad. I love Naomi Shihab-Nye. My daughter loves babies. It really seemed like the perfect match.

[Zacaro Caro · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't understand poetry, is this some sort of broken rhythm beatnik haiku?

I'm interested to read Habibi the authors novel best known for it's artistic cover... (Or is that by Craig Thompson?) but this book was lame, I need to write a children's book, seriously it would be better that 80% of the stuff out there for kids. The key is a good illustrator.

Edit: Craig Thompson wrote the Habibi I was thinking about.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a really adorable book. The illustrations are mostly from the toddler's perspective, and the way the pictures and words go together makes the reader feel the child's excitement and wonder at being out in the world for a little while. At the end, you feel the child's exhaustion after its adventure outside. I really enjoyed this book and think children will too.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would swear I read this with my son when he was smaller. Basically, a toddler is travelling around on errands in his (or her?) stroller, commenting on what they see. The book may be a little long for most toddlers, but I like the stream of consciousness style and the attractive, rounded but realistic illustrations.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the pictures (all from the vantage point of a kid in a stroller), but the book is one long poem which is actually a little hard to read aloud. I got it from the library, but it's not for our permanent collection.

[Chelsee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a few times reading this for my son to get into it, then he really enjoyed it. The wording is a bit disjointed, but playful and representative of the wandering mind of a toddler. A little girl goes for ride "on wheels" through the city, to the park, market, etc before heading back home.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book from perspective of the toddler--ride through city in stroller. probably good for 2's.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book (seeing things from a baby's eye level), but I just didn't find it that interesting.

[HD · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the point of view of your curious toddler...just what I imagine Lucas is experiencing as we dart around town.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

No review.

[Melissa Harbin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lydia lives this! Nice children's book and a great example of perspective.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, good illustrations!