Lulu's Book Pick of the Week- 3/20/2006

“Babies are very little…soft, warm and cuddly. “ So begins this awesome book by Gyo Fujikawa. What I love most about this book are the illustrations that are cute and somewhat dated in feel. There are drawings of babies doing all sorts of things such as eating, laughing, bathing, chasing butterflies and doing “lots of things by themselves.”

Most illustrators of the 1960s were drawing mothers in aprons, fathers with pipes and only Anglo-Saxon children, Gyo Fujikawa was illustrating pictures books for young children and showing them in a very diverse world. She not only filled her picture books with children of other cultures, she used the everyday activities of young children to depict them successfully interacting together in meaningful play. Fujikawa’s work was a precursor for today’s emphasis on embracing ethnic diversity through children’s literature illustration. Gyo Fujikawa wrote over 40 children’s books in her lifetime. Fujikawa died in 1999 and since then, there's been a resurgence in her work.


“Babies” was first printed in 1963 and was put back into circulation in 1997. This book shows activities that all babies and toddlers can identify with. This book was really written FOR them. I love the portrayal of different races and the ease at which they all interact in the books. My daughter loved this book SO much that I actually went on EBay and bought more books by Gyo Fujikawa for her. Most of her books are out of print but these gems can be found! They aren’t SO easy to come by, but, they are worth the search. The illustrations really are so wonderful and funny and, again, the ethnic diversity in all of them is really great.

Babies is available from Amazon for $5.99 (love those cheapies!) And is a great book to give as a gift as well.
Also check out EBay for more books by Gyo Fujikawa!