Reviews for Baby Clown

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

At the Dingling Circus, "a STAR is born"but how can he dazzle the audience when he won't stop crying?In the grand tradition of Marla Frazee's The Boss Baby (2010), Kate Beaton's King Baby (2016), and others, a pair of overwhelmed new parents navigate their infant's attempts to communicate. Boffo and Frieda Clown feed and burp Baby Clown, change his diaper, juggle for him, and even ask their fellow circus performers to entertain him in hopes of ending his wailing. Cordell's characteristically loose ink-and-watercolor illustrations brilliantly evoke Quentin Blake's Clown (1996), with large oval eyeballs and expressive mouths and hands. The clown parents' dramatic features are further exaggerated as they experience dismay, frustration, and abject despair (in one spread, Frieda lies on the floor in the fetal position while Boffo, on his knees, begs Baby Clown to be quiet). All efforts to cheer the tot fail, but the show must go on: The sold-out crowd (depicted in shades of sepia) is eager to see Baby Clownand their eagerness results in an unexpected solution! The clowns' makeup is paper-white, and Baby Clown has a shock of brown hair and light-colored hands; "big boss" Mr. Dingling is the only character with distinctly brown skin.Both amusing and endearing; caregivers and close acquaintances of newborns will feel seenand heard. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.


Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When Boffo and Frieda Clown had a baby, everyone in the circus was over the moon. 'A STAR is born!' said the big boss, Mr. Dingling." Unfortunately, Baby Clown does nothing but cry, which is problematic for the clowns as well as the circus, with Mr. Dingling expressing his displeasure via veiled threats of dismissal. Cordell's jerky, energetic pen-and-ink lines and watercolor washes heighten the sense of agitation and stress as Baby Clown's parents and colleagues (including the trapeze artists, the tightrope walker, and even the animals) try every means to soothe the infant, without success. When the sold-out circus opens, Baby Clown wails through his debut, his misery depicted in a dramatic close-up. Of course, the audience thinks it's all part of the act, and Baby Clown, with show business instincts after all, finds the one thing that soothes his spirit--applause. Full of silliness to enjoy in both art and text, the story may resonate on another level with families who have known the struggle of settling a screaming infant. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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