Babies in the Bayou

The moss dripped down from the tree while beneath them the babies of the bayou swam, walked and roamed the swampy area. The white birds walked by the some beautiful flowers. Their long orange beaks were a sharp contrast to their gorgeous white feathers. Across the way an alligator kept close watch while her babies slept on a log. One's black and yellow tail overlapped the head of a sibling. A little dragonfly sat nearby as if keeping watch on them as well. Oh, there is a baby waking. He gives a big yawn and shows off his "rows of sharp white teeth." The mother raccoon keeps watch on her babies hiding in a tree trunk while "mother alligator guards her babies well." The baby raccoons have "rings around their tails" with a face that is "masked in black." Their mother teaches them how to get food and dig for things like "tasty turtle eggs." There are other critters in the bayou. There are little turtles who "plop in the water," and ducklings who "follow their mother through the maze of lily pads." Oooh, she spots those gators and needs to keep her babies away from them and their "rows of sharp white teeth." The bayou looks like a quiet place, but it is a very busy one teeming with babies and watchful mothers! Every James Arnosky nature book is beautiful and appealingly written. Children and adults love the rhythmical text and gorgeous drawings. Each book is a timeless classic and never seems to go out of style. This book is a learning lesson about life in the bayou. It would be perfect as a read aloud book or could easily be used for an ecology lesson in a homeschool or classroom setting.

This is a charming book, that carefully illustrates the love between mothers and their babies. Children will love it!

My son loves to listen to this story. He points out the mothers and the babies in the illustrations. I think he likes the idea of the mothers protecting their babies. The illustrations are beautiful and the text is simple. It's a great bedtime book. I'll use it in my classroom when we're studying Louisiana. I teach Pre-k and I think it'll be a great way to introduce the animal and plant life in the swamp.