King Baby

by Kate Beaton (Illustrator)

All hail King Baby!

King Baby is gracious--bestowing splendid smiles on his public, allowing tickles and hugs, and posing for photo after adorable photo. But he also has many demands, and when his faithful subjects let him down, King Baby himself must take royal action!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Family, Storytime, Comics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2016

About the author

Kate Beaton was born in Nova Scotia, took a history degree in New Brunswick, paid it off in Alberta, worked in a museum in British Columbia, then came to Ontario for a while to draw pictures, then Halifax, and then New York, and then back to Toronto.

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most adorable book ever. I love how angry/imperious King Baby is.

As an aside, I got to meet Kate Beaton, and she is just a lovely human!

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each year I and my family read and rate all the Goodreads picture book nominees. This one is nominated for 2016. I make a few comments and then add their separate ratings and a comment from each of them. There's 20 (15 first round and 5 new ones for the semi-final round) and this is the sixteenth being rated. My rating might be somewhat influenced by the family, naturally. In this case my rating was the lowest in the family and so I honor especially the kid reviews, since they are closest to the target audience.

Dave: Basically a cute and colorful and pretty humorous "we have a new baby" book for parents. Nothing that a new parent doesn't know; that a new baby is the king (or queen) of the house. Okay, pretty good, I guess, by one of the best-selling cartoonists/comics artists/illustrators around.

Tara (my wife): 3 1/2 stars. Cute. Tara showed this to me a few weeks ago.
Harry (11): 4 1/2 stars. I recognized the art from The Princess and the Pony [which we had rated favorably last year].
Hank (10): 5 stars. I liked how the baby was always the boss.
Lyra (9): 5 stars. I like how the baby is ruling!! King Baby!!!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Baby has arrived! And because all babies have their throne room in the heart of the people who love them YOU WILL OBEY HIS EVERY COMMAND! MOM AND DAD...THIS STARTS WITH YOU! Very funny and warm look at how a baby becomes a tyrant of our love and affection.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah Kate Beaton how I do adore you! Your rapier wit! Your chubby cheeked, squinty eyed characters, your barbed little quips! I could lose myself for hours in your wonderful website "Hark a Vagrant."

I swear if I was stuck on a desert island with only Ms. Beaton's work to keep me company I would be just fine.

This masterful little ode to babyhood had me hooting with glee and fondly ruffling my own cherubs tiny blond heads as I recalled all my own late nights and early mornings with my little kings.

Beaton's illustrations are the best. She's more or less the Rembrandt of facial expressions, no one can do deep, passionate concentration quite like her. Its fabulous to see the expressions on this adorable baby who essentially looks like a very tiny humpty dumpty as he screams at his subjects to "get me the thing! No not that thing! The other thing!"

But even King Babys grow up and what will his "subjects" do when King Baby becomes...dun dun dun...a BIG KID!?!

This take's about five seconds to read and is delightful for grownups and kids (who will appreciate the fart jokes and drooling). Go enjoy!!!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love everything Kate Beaton does ever and ever, if you're only going to get one children's book by her it should be The Princess and the Pony. King Baby is cute and funny but the...plot doesn't really go anywhere? The beginning is funnier than the end.

[Michael Earp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaze!! This book is GOLD! Its tone and comic timing are spot on! Love It!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I heard that Kate Beaton would have a new picture book out, I knew I had to have it. I love her art, and I also loved her previous picture book: The Princess and the Pony.

This book is all about a baby who thinks he is a king, he acts like that as well, but sadly, as you can imagine his royal subjects (aka his parents and family) can't understand him until he is a bit older. Until then he will be getting the wrong things for stuff he asks (like he wants his ducky, but gets a ball instead). Which just was hilarious to see, how frustrated he got, and decided to do it by himself.
I wasn't annoyed at all with the king baby, since I know babies, and I know they can be pretty demanding, so giving one a crown like this, perfection.

I loved all the Hail the King, and all the stuff that the kid said in his mind (since he couldn't talk).

I loved that we got to see him grow up from baby to little kid. With a little crown on top, of course!

What happens after he grows up to be a bit bigger and more independent? He wonders and worries about his royal subjects, but luckily there is a solution, and an adorable at that.

The art was perfection. It was cute, it fitted perfectly. Kate Beaton has a wonderful style of drawing.

This book is definitely a recommendation for everyone.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Krista K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

All hail King Baby! When he arrives many come to see him and bring him gifts, but King Baby has many demands. His royal subjects (i.e. parents) patiently try and meet them all the while becoming increasingly more exhausted. As to be expected, they can't always understand what that baby wants, which leads to the baby doing things on his own.

Beaton's humorous illustrations always so perfectly compliment her wry text. I loved The Princess and the Pony, but I think I may like King Baby even more. As an adult that may one day suffer the tyrannical rule of a King or Queen Baby, I found myself laughing at the clever and realistic portrayal of life with a new and tiny monarch. Placing a crown on the babies head wonderfully illustrated the way new parents bow down to the every demand of their new baby. I think both adults and kids will find this book enjoyable; it's a perfect gift for new or expecting parents with a sense of humor.

[Becket · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Beaton knows the score: that babies are adorable, helpless little tyrants.

[Anmiryam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another awesome picture book from Kate Beaton!

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic. Kate Beaton gets it. King Baby was so silly and fun, but just classic baby. If my BFF has another baby, I will definitely get her this book.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don't review children's picture books on this site but I'll make an exception for this book because 1) It's hilarious 2) I recently had a baby 3) I am really sucking at my 2021 Reading Challenge because of aforementioned king baby and could use some help.

We all love this book. Well, except for king baby because it kinda makes fun of babies.

It's great!

[orangerful · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great picture book, would be a fantastic gift for a baby shower but I think kids will enjoy hearing it too because weren't we all once King and Queen Babies?

Plus, I love Beaton's art style, even if King Baby reminds me a lot of Baby Finn from Adventure Time.

[Library Maven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what siblings of new babies need to know. "Uneasy is the head that wears the crown"!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely hilarious. Loved it. So true of babies as well. They do rule the house and get whatever they want.

[Hayley DeRoche · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are so lucky to have Kate Beaton. All hail Queen Beaton.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny story of a baby whose little world revolves around (that is until his little sister is born).

[Thehappymeerkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this paperback book for free from the publisher Walker Books in return for a review. The following is my honest opinion on this book:

All hail King Baby! For when he arrives many will come to see him and bring gifts. But he has many demands and his loyal subjects must feed him, burb him, change him, bring him his things…It is good to be the king.

This book is hilarious, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed out loud reading a children’s book as much as I have with this one. The book is around the A4 size and has nice thick glossy pictures throughout. The cover image alone made me smile with the egg shaped king and the story does not disappoint!

The story is a simple one and shows just how demanding a baby can be. His subjects (his parents) must do everything for the king when he demands it, but when they can’t keep up with his demands he decides to do something bold a new, to do something for himself. The story is very quick to read through and very funny. I think kids and adults will all love this book but I really think adults will find it even funnier knowing what babies can be like.

I like the fact there’s a nice message of baby growing up and becoming a bit more independent but done in a hilarious way and the pictures really are what make this book so great. The ending is what had me and my family laughing for a long time. It’s a brilliant, slight twist ending to the story and this book just makes you want to re-read it again and again.

Regardless of whether you’ve had kids or not, both adults and children will really enjoy this book. A really funny book with some great illustrations and I can really recommend this.
(pictures can be seen on amazon and my website)

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was on the floor laughing. At work.
I think this will be enjoyed by parents and children alike. And even the errant, childless person who merely works with children.
But what else did I expect from the author of Princess and the Pony?

[Helen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect little story about King Baby who rules the family until he becomes a big boy. Great illustrations as always

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story told from the baby's perspective of the way a new baby monopolizes one's life with its arrival. Really liked the illustrations.

[Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

See, some people might accuse me of desperation at this point, reviewing a 32-page children's book I've read to my son more times than I can consciously count, considering he's now nearly three, and my husband and I started reading it to him when he was only just a baby himself, long before he had any grasp of what the book was actually about or what the illustrations showed.

Those people might not be entirely wrong. I have, however, come to the conclusion that due to my fairly crippling anxiety and depression making it much more difficult to read this year, combined with a heavier than usual workload for parts of it (thanks Covid-19 for the added fun of having to do remote teaching for much of the year, giving me massively more to do without any extra compensation whatsoever) - plus the realisation this evening, as I was reading the book yet again, that it actually fits into one of the last reading challenges I've yet to successfully complete this year and consequently, I'd be an idiot not to review it and count it as one of my 104 books to help me (hopefully) complete my double Cannonball by the end of the year. I really don't want to think about what it's going to do to my self-esteem if I fail to complete this reading goal, the past two years have been pretty dismal for me, reading-wise, and I really need this win.

So if reviewing a sliver of a children's book brings me closer to this goal, then so be it. It's not like it's going to be a struggle for me to write at least 250 words about it - I've probably already covered those in my rather rambling introduction. For those of you who haven't got children of your own, or children to read to (with discerning parents who buy children's books written and illustrated by a former webcomic genius), you may be unaware of this little gem.

King Baby is the brief and sweet tale of a small infant's arrival into a new family, told from said baby's POV. The regally-minded child expects nothing more than is his due, praise, adulation, and adoration from his parents and other subjects. Eventually, King Baby grows older and is replaced by another tiny regent.

I probably adore this book more than my son does, although he's very fond of Beaton's other illustrated children's book, The Princess and the Pony. I have gifted this book to numerous new parents, and it's one of those books that you can read countless times, without ever getting bored, because the illustrations offer up something new almost every time. Highly recommended.

Judging a book by its cover: How can you not love this cover, with an adorable little egg-shaped bundle regally contemplating his existence? I love Kate Beaton's art, and this cover is no exception. While the regal baby is very simplistic, the throne he's sitting on is wonderfully intricate.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny kid's picture book about how a baby is the king of the family (until he becomes a big boy).

Great artwork as Beaton really knows how to do humorous faces.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the author of Hark! A Vagrant comes a second picture book. King Baby is born to loving and devoted subjects, his parents. People bring gifts and in return King Baby bestows blessings upon them. He smiles and coos, but a King can also be demanding. When he doesn’t get his toy fast enough, he can be cranky. And his subjects don’t understand his demands, so King Baby has to do something new and bold. He crawls! Then he starts to grow and grow into a Big Boy. But as he grows up, who will rule his subjects?

Beaton has created a picture book that fully embraces the experience of new parenthood and will also work to show children about to be siblings just how very demanding a tiny baby can be for attention and time. Still, there is also the fact that they grow up so fast, quickly leaving babyhood behind. The use of imperious and lordly demands makes the book very funny and may allow overwhelmed families a little laugh about their small bundles of joy.

Beaton’s signature art work is a delight. The baby as little more than an egg with a crown captures those first few weeks perfectly. The crown remains perched on his little head all the way through tantrums and royal demands. The chaos of a home with a baby is also fully depicted with exhausted parents in hoodies and sweatpants and the floor littered with bottles, toys and clothes.

If you have a new little king or queen of your own or are expecting one to move in soon, this is a book that will have you and your other children giggling and agreeing. Appropriate for ages 2-4.

[Whispering Stories · Rating 5 out of 5]

All hail King Baby, for he is here to rule this house.

The birth of King Baby has arrived, and his loyal subjects have come to bless him with their gifts, or friends and family as we know them.

As any parent will tell you those first few hours are the calm before the storm, before the baby makes all of his demands. His cries can be heard far and wide, for a variety of reasons, I want feeding, I want changing, I need burping and on and on.

As King baby gets older the demands still continue, ‘bring me my toys, no, not that one the other one’. When he gets fed up with his parents not getting things right, he will just have to try to do it himself.

This is a hilarious book about how a baby rules the house, and his parents. Being the mother of three boys, I can certainly agree with everything in this book. Parents do become the slaves of their child, we run around doing everything that baby wants, the baby most certainly is King!

This is a children’s book that I feel kids will find extremely funny, especially those with younger brother’s or sister’s. It is far more than that though, this is a book that could be given to those who are expecting, or who have just had a baby to give them a laugh, it certainly made me laugh out loud.

Reviewed by Stacey at www.whisperingstories.com

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The creator of The Princess and the Pony and the sketch comics of Hark! A Vagrant now brings her legion of fans the story of an adorable tyrant: King Baby. The egg-shaped infant is flummoxed by the lack of acquiescence to his demands by his "foolish subjects": Mom and Dad. Beaton's picture book illustrations are colorful and expressive, but it is the hilarious internal monologue of King Baby that will delight Beaton's adult fans, and parents in particular. Beaton proves that picture books are not just for kids. Fans of Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny books will enjoy Beaton's cheeky illustrations.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Baby is the supreme ruler of everything and everyone shall worship him! This book is funny and very relatable. It will be great for new parents and for people with a new baby in their lives. And it's also a good one for new siblings!

For: readers wanting a wonderful book about the power babies seem to have over us all.

Possible red flags: tyranny.

[Jackie "the Librarian" · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got to see Kate Beaton act this out at Book Expo! Baby is a benevolent, yet absolute ruler, who gets frustrated at times when his loyal servants don't understand his commands.
Hilarious and true, especially recommended for families with recent new arrivals.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

FAB-U-LOUS

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best read for anyone with a four year old big brother or sister and parents as well