A first time for everything by Tiffiny Hall and Ed Kavalee
Illus. by Anil Tortop. Albert Street Books, 2019. ISBN:
9781760525002.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Adventure, Exploration,
Parenting, Babies, Families. This book had me laughing out loud
recognising the trials and tribulations of that first year with a
new baby.
Everything seems to go well before he comes along, but the
experience of a first child is daunting and it is shown with love
and humour as the parents grow into their new job. The look on mum's
face as the child is left with her, a mixture of panic and
happiness, of fear and joy, comes across beautifully in the cartoon
like illustrations. Each page reveals another trial, as the parents
tell the reader what has happened, and the illustrations belie the
calmness of the text.
As the pages turn the progress of the child's first year is
revealed, from its first wee across the room, the first poo, the
first time Dad introduces pumpkin, the first outing and so on.
Readers will see the development of the child from a baby to a
toddler, reinforcing the progressive development of skills and
abilities as the child grows.
But humour abounds as the frazzled parents take their new roles
seriously. I love the image of the child in its bassinet in the car,
the first time they take the baby home. And of Mum struggling with
the array of things she must take with her as she wheels the pusher
down the street whistling to herself at a job well done while the
baby has been left behind. Readers will get a thrill out of the
contrast between the illustrations and text, and pore over the
detail of family life shown.
Delicious first moments appear on every page: the first word, the
first outing, the first sleep through and the first birthday, for
the parents a long time coming. Classes will have a lot of fun with
this book, recognising the trauma that occurs in a house with a new
baby, empathising with the new parents, seeing a child's
development, and seeing the first year from three (or four, with the
long suffering dog) different perspectives.
Fran Knight