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Baby Goes to Market

A busy mama at a traditional Nigerian market carries a large basket on her head and a small baby on her back. As she goes from stall to stall making her purchases, she doesn’t notice that Baby is on a shopping expedition of his own. Each place Mama stops, Baby attracts the attention of a shopkeeper who gives him something to eat—six bananas, five oranges, four chin-chin biscuits, three roasted sweet corns, and two pieces of coconut. Baby eats one of each and puts the rest into the basket on top of his mother’s head. She is completely oblivious to it all until she realizes how heavy her basket has gotten and is surprised to see it filled with things she didn’t buy. Even once the shopkeepers explain, she doesn’t realize Baby has been eating all along and is eager to get home and feed her (presumably) hungry child. The humorous patterned text is filled with specific cultural references, which are reinforced in the detailed multimedia illustrations by an artist who grew up in Ghana and Nigeria. Honor Book, 2018 Charlotte Zolotow Award ©2018 Cooperative Children's Book Center

Illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 2-4
Age Range: Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3) PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format: Picture book
Subjects: Babies Community Counting (Concept) Food and Cooking Humor Nigerians and Nigerian Americans Surprise Endings
Diversity subject: Black/African

Publisher: Candlewick
Publish Year: 2017
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780763695705

CCBC Location: Picture Book, Atinuke

Baby Goes to Market