Hey, Baby, Look! by Kate Shannon, Illustrated by Morgan Owens {Children’s Book Review}

Genre: Baby, Board Book
Review: 4 out of 5

Created for deep connection, loving interaction, enhanced joy, and engaged learning, Hey, Baby, Look! is ideal for ages 0-3. An important board book addition to any little person’s very first library, Hey, Baby, Look! is underpinned by brain research and whimsical creativity. Its sturdy pages are rich in color, beautifully illustrated, and full of rhyming fun!

WINNER: IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award (Gold Medal: Children’s Literature, 0-3)
WINNER: Beverly Hills International Book Award (Gold Medal: Children’s Nonfiction)
WINNER: Indie Reader Discovery Award (Gold Medal: Kids)
WINNER: MIPA Midwest Book Awards (Three Silver Medals: Children’s Nonfiction, Children’s Picture Book, & Graphic Illustration)
WINNER: National Indie Excellence Award (Silver Medal: Children’s Picture Books – Preschool)
WINNER: Indie Book Awards (Silver Medal: Children’s/Juvenile Non-Fiction)
WINNER: San Francisco Book Festival (Silver Medal: Children’s Books)

It has been discussed among many experts that early childhood development is enhanced when the learning process is engaging for both parent and child. Hey, Baby, Look! is a new children’s board book, created especially for the zero-to-three, infant and toddler market. Written by Kate Shannon and illustrated by award-winning Morgan Owens, Hey, Baby, Look! is steeped in brain-based research and meant to optimize interactive learning in a positive and playful way.

As a nominee for the 27th Annual Minnesota Book Awards, “Hey, Baby, Look! applies the most current academic and brain research to maximize your child’s learning in a fun and interactive way,” according to Dr. Rita Brodnax, a PhD in Educational Leadership and the Application of Neuroscience to Teaching and Learning.

(We read the entire book, but didn’t realize until the end that it only recorded a little over one minute!)

* * * Review * * *

Someone in my house loved the book enough to walk off with my first copy. I’m not sure who it was, but I’m assuming it was my book loving 2 year old!

After purchasing another one, she tried to steal it again. As you can see from her response in the video – she wanted to read the book. (And at the time of editing this post for publication, the second one appears to have wandered off as well!)

The colors were bright and held her attention, which we both loved.

A is 2 years old and she knew most of the pictures in the book and she knew her colors. Some of the wording was beyond her age yet, but is something that she will definitely grow into (e.g. tastes sour).

It is a great book for littles and I could definitely see this in a baby’s room to be read to. I am a firm believer that even reading it to a baby would help with their learning as they grow.

A is 2 and we have been working on shapes, colors, animals, etc. since she started to talk. Of course, like any other child, she doesn’t always want to answer us when we ask her, but using a book like Hey, Baby, Look! had her answering, pointing out, and naming things even I didn’t realize she knew!

Hey, Baby, Look! is definitely a book for your home bookshelf, daycare, and at friend’s and family’s home!

Buy the book at… Amazon.com     Blue Dream Books

About the Author

Kate Shannon wrote her first children’s book when she was five and her second when she was 35. “Three decades is a long time for something to come around again,” Shannon said, “but when that something is meant to be, it will surely find its way.”

Her company, Blue Dream Books, publishes specifically for the 0-3, board book market. Their focus is on creating beautiful, quality, brain-based, educational materials for infants and toddlers, yet–like anything of substance and value in this world–their books are designed to be bigger than themselves.

“Our work is meant to be a conduit,” Shannon said, “a vehicle for the creation of perfect moments of joy and connection between the tiniest people and the biggest ones. If our little book company can help create a space for the most tender and positive interactions–for moments that may also be imbued with learning and growth, then we’ve done what we set out to do.”

Hey, Baby, Look! is Kate Shannon’s first published work, but there are 26 books behind it, all waiting to come to life! Shannon holds a B.A. in Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature from the University of Minnesota and a M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University. You can find out more about Kate and Blue Dream Books via www.bluedreambooks.com.

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