Baby Bowie

November 4, 2019
Iconoclastic musical artist David Bowie becomes a goggle-eyed avatar of adorableness in this description-oriented board book, part of the Baby Rocker series. Each spread features a word and adjective pair on the left-hand page, facing a bright Pintachan illustration of the item in simplified geometric shapes and a saturated rainbow palette. As the pages turn, specific adjectives—“spiky hair,” “shiny lightning bolt”—give way to more generic pairings—“loud guitar,” “tall microphone.” True Bowie fans may be dismayed to see their hero depicted with two matching aqua eyes—their mismatch was part of his unmistakable look—but adults who eschew more traditional preschool fare may enjoy passing on their sensibilities distilled into a toddler-friendly package. Also available: Baby Kiss: A Book About Colors. Ages up to 3.

November 15, 2019
Though this and other titles in the Baby Rocker series seem aimed more at aging rocker parents than at toddlers, it's undeniably charming. The Onion once ran a story headlined, "Cool Dad Raising Daughter on Media That Will Put Her Entirely out of Touch With Her Generation." The Baby Rocker books arouse a similar sense of irony despite being quite good for what they are. Both this David Bowie-themed celebration of adjectives and its companion volume, Baby KISS: A Book About Colors, are visual delights, bursting with bright hues and simple but stylized renderings of the critical iconography of both acts. Bowie's "SPIKY hair" (with eye patch) and "SHINY lightning bolt" (à la Aladdin Sane) and KISS' "BLACK-AND-WHITE face paint" and Gene Simmons' "PINK tongue" all feature prominently, for example. One stumble: using the phrase "SMOOTH costume" to describe an outfit that Bowie fans will instantly recognize from the Ziggy Stardust era. While in photos the outfit is clearly shiny and reflective (and, therefore, smooth), it's hard for anyone, child or adult, to infer that from this matte cartoon rendering. Bowie's "THICK eyeliner" may prompt conversations about gender presentation. But the fundamental question is whether kids should be reading about contemporary acts or about their caregivers' heroes? Will there be a Baby Rappers series, too? With its companion, fun for music-loving tots whose grown-ups like these artists. (Board book. 2-5)

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