By Atinuke Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank
Join Baby and his mama at the bustling marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers.
When Baby and Mama go to market, baby is so adorable that the banana seller gives him six bananas. Baby eats one and puts five in the basket, but Mama doesn't notice. As Mama and Baby wind their way through the market stalls, cheeky Baby collects five juicy oranges, four sugary chin-chin biscuits, three roasted sweetcorn, two pieces of coconut ... until Mama notices that her basket is getting very heavy. Poor Baby, she thinks – he must be very hungry by now! Now in baby-friendly board book format, rhythmic language, visual humour and a bounty of delectable food make this a tale that is sure to whet little appetites for story time.
Fantastic. Restores my faith in the dream of world harmony to see wonderful stories that just happen to teach us Americans (and others, I assume) about some aspects of the life and culture of many ppl of Nigeria (and of other African countries, I imagine). I love the author's Anna Hibiscus chapter books and everything else by the author, too.
The counting down and simple arithmetic concepts are presented engagingly, too.
Baby Goes to Market is written by Atinuke and listed in the 2018 Children’s Africana Book Awards supported by the African Studies Association. This story follows a mother and her baby shopping in an outdoor market within Africa. Baby’s likeable disposition leads to food gifts from market vendors. Baby eats one of each food set and places the rest in a basket. This book is great for incorporating discussion of what is similar and different in the story and when the children go to the market. This picture book lends itself to incorporating math and social studies lessons as it demonstrates growing patterns as well as an opportunity to discuss economics.
