Eat, Sleep, Poop

July 4, 2016
“I haven’t been here very long,” says a peach-skinned, towheaded infant. “But I already have a rigorous schedule”—one neatly summed up in this book’s title (which it shares with a 2010 parenting book by Scott W. Cohen). Penfold, a literary agent making her children’s book debut, gives her young narrator the offhand but pointed tone of a busy adult professional. “It’s a lot to fit in a single day, but I manage,” the infant notes in a perfectly world-weary humblebrag, adding that on particularly busy days, “I have to cut back... on the sleep.” One suspects that adults are the real target market (expect to see this book turn up at a lot of baby showers), but even if actual children miss the wry subtlety of the text, Massey (Lucy and Henry Are Twins) has them covered: her genial cartooning finds ample visual variation in the title’s three verbs (or are they imperatives?) while charting developmental leaps. Besides, the sight of someone sniffing a baby’s bottom and/or quickly handing off said bottom to someone else is a joke with universal appeal. Ages 2–5. Author’s agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House.

June 15, 2016
A baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do.A first-person narration details the eponymous basics of a baby's routine, while brightly colored pencil-and-gouache illustrations expand on the text to depict a family's loving care of their eating, sleeping, pooping baby narrator. Although they aren't named in the text, characters who appear to be the parents and one set of grandparents cuddle, bottle-feed, sniff, and hand off the baby in opening pages. A small dog in the illustrations (who bears a striking resemblance to Tad Hills' Rocket) acts as a stand-in of sorts for a jealous big sibling and adds some visual interest and gentle humor to the spreads as it reacts with some wariness to the baby's activities. Over time, the baby grows bigger and older and sprouts more blond hair and begins to "cut back... / on the sleep." One spread, set in what looks like a playgroup, incorporates some diversity by including a few people whose skin tones and hair textures make them appear to be people of color. Otherwise the baby and everyone else all appear white. The closing of the book culminates with the addition of the word "LOVE" to the titular phrase, which highlights that the dog has come around to accepting the baby's presence in the family. Eat, sleep, poop, read. (Picture book. 2-4)

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October 1, 2016

Toddler-PreS-In this book, Penfold humorously presents the demanding schedule of an infant. As the title suggests, this mostly consists of eating, sleeping, and pooping, although sometimes sleep is "cut back," leading to a few illustrations of a cranky baby. The book concludes by repeating the refrain, "Eat, Sleep, Poop," but adds at the end "Love," showcasing the baby's family lovingly embracing their young child. Told from the first-person perspective of the baby, this sweet, simple, and droll story will be especially appreciated by young readers with newborn siblings. The baby's gender is never explicitly identified, making it easier for readers to relate the tale to their own families. Massey's illustrations, which were created using pencil and gouache, are soft and detailed, capturing the warm tone of the text and the book's cute and cuddly narrator. Although "poop" is one of the main things baby does during the day, there isn't any potty humor, nor are there any illustrated depictions, as Massey subtly implies the occurrence, most often by drawing family members' reactions when they notice the smell of a stinky diaper; young readers, however, may still giggle at the word as it is repeated several times throughout. VERDICT While children with younger siblings and parents of newborns may get the most amusement from this book, other readers are still likely to enjoy this endearing offering and its gentle humor.-Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY

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