Tender: 100 poems for the first 100 days of life

by Harry Baker

Tender is the hilarious and heart-warming new collection from World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker, which sees him turn his attention to the topic of fatherhood for the first time.

It captures all the tiny, fragile, perfect moments of new life and, with it, new parenthood. Full of sleepless wonder and with his characteristic wit and warmth, Harry Baker offers snapshots into the intense first 100 days with his son as they get to know each other.

A yawn from a tiny pink mouth, a kind word from a stranger on a difficult day, the weight of a body sleeping against your chest - parents will recognise both themselves and their children in Tender and find consolation in this collection.

Genres: Poetry

176 pages, Hardcover

Published March 5, 2026

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, heartfelt; a perfect gift for a new dad. Bear in mind that Baker is a performance poet and his work is best experienced out loud (I discovered him via Greenbelt Festival). While he's most often in comic mode, a number of these poems are more serious as he considers his mental health frankly. Some highlights are "We All Used to Be Babies," "You Won't Remember Any of This," and the title poem ("of course I did not / need a child to know this. / I have been growing / on my own over the years, / learning the bravest thing / that you can be is open; / that the hardest thing / that you can be is soft - / that it takes practice.").

[Val.F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful adorable poetry book -it would make an ideal gift for any new parents! Harry wrote this during the first 100 days of his newborn sons life -an incredible feat for any new parent! Even though my children are way past being babies, this book transported me back to that time and had me laughing and crying in equal amounts! Harry has such a wonderful outlook on life, he is both witty and caring and his heart and soul always shines through in his words -he is also fabulous to watch perform his poetry live -I would highly recommend this and all of his previous books too.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

52 book club challenge prompt 52 - published in 2026

(Borrowed from Ellie on a longgggg train journey)
Cute!
I think he’s such a cute, earnest little human being.
He’s lucky I believe he’s really that genuine though, otherwise I think too many of the poems could come across as trite.
29, 100, and the epilogue were my favs 😌

[Ben]

Another Harry Baker classic! 100 poems about his child's first 100 days and the adventures of parenthood. Real, tender and glorious. Chuckled and nodded my way through it in recognition.

[Rebeca Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, raw and funny portrait of early parenthood. Getting to hear Harry speak these poems aloud was amazing, such a talent!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful!

[Mim Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Harry Baker’s poetry and this didn’t disappoint. Amusing and sweet, it was lovely to read about the very familiar early days of parenthood from a Dad’s perspective.