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Baby Steps
A lovely and loving record of a baby's first year. This is baby Suki.
She is one day old.
The nurse wraps her tightly in a blanket.
We call her our little burrito. As little Suki grows bigger with each passing month, she reaches the milestones that every child does in the magical first year of life. At three months she claps her hands and squeals with delight. At nine months she visits the beach and plays with her mother at the water's edge. Soon it's time for Suki to celebrate her first birthday. Peter McCarty chronicles the early months of his daughter's life in exquisite pencil drawings and tender, evocative prose that will resonate with anyone who has ever watched a child grow. Baby Steps , a wonderful gift book for new parents, is also just right for sharing with toddlers who love to look at pictures of babies and point out all the things they can do.
She is one day old.
The nurse wraps her tightly in a blanket.
We call her our little burrito. As little Suki grows bigger with each passing month, she reaches the milestones that every child does in the magical first year of life. At three months she claps her hands and squeals with delight. At nine months she visits the beach and plays with her mother at the water's edge. Soon it's time for Suki to celebrate her first birthday. Peter McCarty chronicles the early months of his daughter's life in exquisite pencil drawings and tender, evocative prose that will resonate with anyone who has ever watched a child grow. Baby Steps , a wonderful gift book for new parents, is also just right for sharing with toddlers who love to look at pictures of babies and point out all the things they can do.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 2000
7 people want to read
About the author
Peter McCarty
36 books56 followersI was born in 1966 in Westport, Connecticut right in the middle of two older brothers and two younger sisters. We kept our mother busy while my father worked long hours at IBM. Most of my childhood was spent in my head. I was usually recreating a battle from World War II or running from dinosaurs in prehistoric times. To this day, I develop characters and environments based on worlds I first created when I was three. I am grateful to my mother who kept us surrounded with art. I come from a long line of artists and my grandmother, Grace Boyd, was the best. She died before I was born, but her fantastic paintings and drawings were all around us.
Since my father worked for IBM, we moved often. I think being on the move during my formative years has been the reason I tend to create books about returning home. By the time I graduated from high school we were living in Boulder, Colorado. At the University of Colorado, I began my long career as a professional student. I first thought I was going to be an engineer so I took all kinds of science and math classes. I enjoyed solving math problems, but I could not see myself working in a lab. Along the way, I continued to draw and create worlds as I always have. My friends and teachers were very supportive. Around the time when I should have been graduating, I decided to start over and go to art school at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I finally graduated from college, in 1992.
One of my illustration teachers, William Low introduced me to Laura Godwin, a children’s book editor at Henry Holt and Company. She gave me my first professional art job to illustrate a little science book, Frozen Man written by David Getz. I worked really hard on that book. Laura was impressed; so I was offered to illustrate a picture book, Night Driving written by John Coy. Again I did the best illustrations I knew how, like my life depended on it. One drawing of a car going over a bridge made my girlfriend cry. She said, “Oh, you can draw.” We were then married in 1995.
Night Driving was first published in 1996 and received praise from critics and won some awards. Laura Godwin then offered me the best of all offers; I could write and illustrate whatever I wanted. Little Bunny on the Move came into my mind after months of searching for a story. Little Bunny on the Move was published in 1999 and won a Best Illustrated Book of the Year from the New York Times. That book established my career and gave me the confidence to continue to write and illustrate the stories from my mind.
Since my father worked for IBM, we moved often. I think being on the move during my formative years has been the reason I tend to create books about returning home. By the time I graduated from high school we were living in Boulder, Colorado. At the University of Colorado, I began my long career as a professional student. I first thought I was going to be an engineer so I took all kinds of science and math classes. I enjoyed solving math problems, but I could not see myself working in a lab. Along the way, I continued to draw and create worlds as I always have. My friends and teachers were very supportive. Around the time when I should have been graduating, I decided to start over and go to art school at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. I finally graduated from college, in 1992.
One of my illustration teachers, William Low introduced me to Laura Godwin, a children’s book editor at Henry Holt and Company. She gave me my first professional art job to illustrate a little science book, Frozen Man written by David Getz. I worked really hard on that book. Laura was impressed; so I was offered to illustrate a picture book, Night Driving written by John Coy. Again I did the best illustrations I knew how, like my life depended on it. One drawing of a car going over a bridge made my girlfriend cry. She said, “Oh, you can draw.” We were then married in 1995.
Night Driving was first published in 1996 and received praise from critics and won some awards. Laura Godwin then offered me the best of all offers; I could write and illustrate whatever I wanted. Little Bunny on the Move came into my mind after months of searching for a story. Little Bunny on the Move was published in 1999 and won a Best Illustrated Book of the Year from the New York Times. That book established my career and gave me the confidence to continue to write and illustrate the stories from my mind.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 20, 2019
Baby steps is a book that follows a little baby girl named Suki, throughout her first year of life. She learns to play, she learns to laugh, she discovers her favorite foods, and she learns to stand on her own and walk. This book could be facilitated in the classroom during a discussion about growing up, about changing, maybe to show students how different and more grown they will be a year from now than where they are now. Growing up can be a scary thought for a lot of children. I know that when I was a child, understanding that we grow, change, get older, and move through all phases in life totally scared me. I was afraid of going through the motions. This book highlights a baby's first year of life and achievements in a really positive way, that might be fun to read to elementary students at the beginning and end of the year, when discussing how they too will grow and change over the school year. It would also be a good read for children who might have a new sibling in the house, so they can learn all about what to expect from their little brother or sister in their fist year together! The illustrations are stunning, it looks like they aren't really drawings, just pictures from a camera. The attention to detail is amazing and the photos look so real!
February 15, 2022
Suki takes baby steps to her first birthday.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2023
The photos are winningly adorable.
The words chronicle milestones in the first year of a newborn.
Both are from Peter McCarty.
Of course this book will receive FIVE STARS.
The words chronicle milestones in the first year of a newborn.
Both are from Peter McCarty.
Of course this book will receive FIVE STARS.
April 13, 2013
This is a cute story about a little baby named Suki. The story starts with Suki being one-day-old and progresses month by month until Suki’s first birthday. The story has beautiful drawings of McCarty’s daughter, and young readers get to see the different milestones that every child must go through in their first year. I think younger readers—that is, toddlers—would be intrigued by this book because it chronologically follows the growth of a child, which is something that I don’t think they take notice of or reflect on. I also think this would be a good book to introduce a health lesson on growth and development with elementary students.
April 17, 2011
I enjoy reading the simplicity yet powerful writings of Peter McCarty. I think this is a great book to read for those students who are expecting a new member in their family. This particular book is also written in a very poetic style.
April 22, 2012
Stunning artwork and probably the sweetest thing ever. What child doesn't want to inspire a picture book?
August 16, 2012
Gorgeous illustrations - they look like black and white photographs. This is a very talented illustrator.
March 13, 2012
My four year old likes this because we have a new baby in the house.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews