Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie
A must have.
This book is a rhythmic masterpiece! As you open the cover, you enter into a family’s dance party: “Brother’s hands tap./Sister’s hands snap./ Itty bitty Baby’s hands CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!”
Wheeler’s verses dance off the page, as grandparents, uncles and aunties all join the jam. Christie’s illustrations are bold and full of movement.
R. Gregory Christie, who is Black, is a Caldecott Honor winner and a 6 time Coretta Scott King Honor recipient.
What Maya loves:
Research indicates that babies learn languages from rhythmic information – the stress or emphasis on different syllables of words and the rise and fall of tone – in their first months. Later, they learn from phonetic information (the smallest sounds in words – so “ah” as in apple, and so on). For these reasons (and others!) experts recommend that parents sing nursery songs to their babies and use sing-song speech.
We haven’t come across any research on the impact of using jazzy songs like this one on language development in babies, but my youngest son was captivated from the first page. Jazz Baby remains a storytime fixture for us. Wheeler is masterful.
Recommended age: 3 months-4 years
