Ride, Baby, Ride!

My 13 month old son LOVES this book. I read it at least five times a day to him. He laughs at the pictures. Points at the babies. He is just "glued" to each page -- finding the story fresh and entertaining every time I read it. Needless to say, I've memorized the text. I love this book because it has intrigued my son and started him on the process of becoming a reader.

Utilizing the delightfully creative and playful style that makes "Dream, Baby, Dream!" especially endearing (see review), author/illustrator Raquel Jaramillo imaginatively unites vivid photos with minimal text for the resulting fantasy adventure, "Ride, Baby, Ride!" The cover illustration - a grinning baby seated atop a ferocious tiger - offers a fitting hors d'oeuvre of the literary meal about to be served. The story opens with a scowling baby strapped into his stroller. Any adult who has had the experience of securing an unwilling child into a stroller KNOWS the expression on this baby's face! The question is posed: "What does baby want to ride?" and in an adjacent photo, baby appears to be deep in thought. The series of double-page spreads that follow are some of the many possible responses, each of which inspires a journey of imagination. Baby's scowl is quickly replaced with expressions of glee, joy, fascination, awe and delight. (I must confess that I especially loved the grin and salute of the racecar driver who appears quite cool, calm and collected zooming by in his "shades.") Through Ms. Jaramillo's photographs, baby soars upon a flying carpet, dangles mischievously upon the tip of an elephant's trunk, travels from ocean through outer space, and returns home safely to Daddy's loving embrace.The adventures stipulated in "Ride, Baby, Ride!" encompass areas of interest that are truly relevant to a young child's mind - animals, flight, space, movement, sensation, creatures of the sea, venturing away from Mommy and Daddy to explore the world and then returning safely to them. This board book is sturdy enough for infants and toddlers (who will love the pictures and enjoy hearing the story), yet thought provoking enough for 3's, 4's and 5's. The vocabulary is appropriate for those with beginning literacy skills, and the onomatopoeic sounds (i.e., vroom, zoom, stomp, splash) are fun for all! "Ride, Baby, Ride!" is a wonderful reading experience that I highly recommend.

my 20 month old son loves this book! we first noticed this book in the children's section of our library and my son immediately fell in love with the photographs. the book follows a baby's daydreams about different modes of transportation besides his boring old stroller and includes a ride on a rocket and an elephant. my son's favorite parts are the elephant ride, which he loves reading over and over again, and the picture of the daddy and the baby at the end because for some reason he thinks the daddy's nose looks funny! in any case, it's a fun book, nice and short, perfect for the toddler with a short attention span, and full of interesting pictures.