What Does Baby Say?: A Lift-the-Flap Book

by Karen Katz

A cranky baby says...
"Waah-waah!"
A cuddly baby says...
"Ma-ma!"
Karen Katz's distinctive illustrations bring baby's words to life! Lift the flaps in this sturdy board book to see what a hungry baby, a happy baby, and more say!

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books

16 pages, Board Book

First published October 26, 2004

About the author

Karen Katz has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Colors of Us, Can You Say Peace, My First Ramadan, Counting Kisses and Where is Baby's Belly Button. Long inspired by folk art from around the world, she was inspired to write her first book, Over the Moon, when she and her husband adopted their daughter from Guatemala, and she wanted to tell the story of welcoming Lena into their lives. Katz loves to paint and experiment with texture, color, collage and pattern. Besides an author and illustrator, she has been a costume designer, quilt maker, fabric artist and graphic designer. Katz and her family divide their time between New York City and Saugerties, New York.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/karenkatz

Reviews

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another book that I used for my Baby Storytime. The caregivers and babies enjoyed it and got into the participatory aspect of the book. My only real issue with the book is that the flaps are pretty flimsy and easy for babies to tear--I just would have preferred it to be more durable.

For: caregivers looking for a good snuggle book to read with their baby.

Possible red flags: Some caregivers may not be interested in participating, so this may not be the book for them.

[Emma Treganowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am constantly doing Karen Katz at baby storytime, this one was good, but not my favorite one. I tend to like baby books that don't have "baby words" like goo-goo, so they can hear correct vocabulary, but words like this are a good start and I can see the potential benefit.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a real strong karen Katz, IMO. My kid loves them and I’m not sure why. Stick to where is baby’s belly button.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our story times are attended by children, ages infant to five, with an attending adult (or two) for each family. We like to begin our programs with simple board books that will appeal to the youngest of them. Usually the older children enjoy them just as much as the little ones, which was the case with this book.

"What does HAPPY baby say?" (lift-the-flap) "Goo-Goo!" and so forth for "sad baby", "hungry baby", "cuddly baby", "busy baby" (my favorite -- "Uh-oh!"), "cranky baby", and "sleepy baby".

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feared this book was too young for my 18-month-old as it featured a baby with a bottle, but she doesn't seem to mind at all. She enjoys repeating the phrases under the flaps ("goo-goo," "ba-ba," "ma-ma"). My only complaint is that the phrases under the flaps seem to pair together in rhyme for the first few, but then we end up with an uneven number and they didn't match up in the end.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like all of Karen Katz's basic books, this one should be very good for toddlers and pre-toddlers. The liftable flaps serve to extend the time it takes to go through the book by a little bit, and the lifting action might be a good way to gain the focus of the smallest children.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of my toddlers have loved this book! They learn to repeat the sounds and say them with you. My oldest two tore off the flaps long ago, so I used a Sharpie to fill in the words and changed "ba-ba" to "yum-yum". This has been a cherished book in my house!

[Joshua's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The flaps cover most or all of the page which makes it hard for little fingers to find them and turn them. I wish the flaps were stuck to the book a bit better so I didn't have to keep taping them. Fun and bright illustrations that my kids love. Simple text for young children.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my daughter was young, she learned several basic words this way, and she loved lifting the flaps. Be warned, though, that certain little ones might be inclined to rip the flimsy flaps off...

[Shyam Rahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another favorite. One of Shyam's first words came from this book.... What does the naughty baby say?? .... "uh oh"

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

While clearly below my 3-year-old's level, I could see this being a very fun book. He enjoyed it a lot!

[Kit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do so many children's books have children drinking out of bottles and eating junk food?

[Ellee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was all right - not as good as Daddy Hugs or Where's Mommy? but still cute.

[Jennifer]

Used as Read-Together for Busy Busy Babies baby storytime in March 2010.

[Amanda Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book. She likes any lift flap, or touch and feel books. The only thing is that some of the flaps get stuck, and can't be opened quickly.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually really like Karen Katz's board books. However this title and How Does Baby Feel are really didatic.

[Abbi Dion]

Good stuff -- not too long, so baby doesn't lose it before the end; hard pages; good contrast between text and pages; fun sounds to make; dynamic flaps -- what's not to love??

[Paula Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books to read to/with my granddaughter!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lift and flap book about the various things babies say.

[Saske · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 9 months Saske really likes Karen Katz books and lift and flap books in general. The illustrations are large and adorable and the flaps are rather large so they are eye catching. Right now he likes to see how the image changes when you lift the flap, as he gets older we are hoping to ask him more questions and have him lift the flap himself. For now his favorite part is making sounds when we go through what the different babies say. His sounds dont match those in the books but I like seeing him try to vocalize something in response to the story.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to say something on this book. my class is 4 or 5 year olds and we are in prek. graduation was today on June 22nd 2018.