Ciao, Baby! Ready for a Ride

by Carole Lexa Schaefer, Lauren Tobia (Illustrator)

Ciao! A pair of cute and colorful board books from Carole Lexa Schaefer and Lauren Tobia introduce a curious, lovable tot eager to explore the world.

Baby and Mamma are going to visit Nonna today. They say good-bye to Papa -- Ciao, Papa! -- and head out. How will they get there? Roll, roll in the stroller. Beep, beep on the bus. Choo, choo on the train -- all the way to Nonna's. Whee! Ciao, Nonna! Ciao, Baby!

Genres: Picture Books, Transport, Childrens

28 pages, Board Book

Published May 8, 2018

About the author

When Carole Lexa Schaefer was growing up, she wanted to be both a poet and a journalist. In an unexpected way, she feels she achieved her ambition. While studying for a master's degree in early childhood education, she once put together a picture book made of photo essays. "The lyrical, every-word-counts genre captivated the poet and journalist in me," Carole Lexa Schaefer recalls--and she's been writing stories for children ever since. Her first book with Candlewick, THE COPPER TIN CUP, traces the origin of a family keepsake that's been handed down for generations. "It was inspired by my connections with my immigrant relatives through stories and songs--invisible heirlooms--to keep handing on," she says.

The longtime director of a Seattle preschool that she founded in 1980, Carole Lexa Schaefer often draws on her experience with young children when writing stories. In DOWN IN THE WOODS AT SLEEPYTIME, not one of the baby animals in the woods is ready to go to bed, until Grandma Owl finally finds a way to settle everyone down. The author says she was inspired "by all my friends at Little Friends Preschool who like to play just a little bit longer--even at sleepytime." Luckily, preschool teachers now have some help at nap time: DOWN IN THE WOODS AT SLEEPYTIME, says PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, is a book in which "author and artist make bedtime about as appealing as it gets."


With her next books, Carole Lexa Schaefer switches gears from sleepytime to partytime. FULL MOON BARNYARD DANCE is a rousing read-aloud that showcases farm animals dancing as they learn to appreciate their differences. ONE WHEEL WOBBLES, a zany counting book, follows one fun-loving family on Family Parade Day as they roll along on an ever-increasing number of wheels--Gramma on a motorcycle, Sister on a trike, and Grampa on some snazzy skates. Of ONE WHEEL WOBBLES, Carole Lexa Schaefer explains, "I wanted to create a counting book for children with which they could have a rollicking good time."


Carole Lexa Schaefer, who has a master's degree in early childhood education from the University of Washington, taught school for ten years in places as varied as Taiwan, Switzerland, and Micronesia, as well as Missouri and Washington. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, the author now lives in Seattle.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story. The ride was probably the part I enjoyed the least but it was still cute. Recommended, with grandma having all sorts of fun with baby. Lots of family love shown in pictures.

[Melissa Swistek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parisian baby travels by stroller, bus, boat, and train to see Nonna. Introduces some French vocab and reflects a positive family dynamic. It’s cute!

[Maria Shuffit · Rating 5 out of 5]

We checked this book out from the library and in the three weeks that we had it, I'm pretty sure that we read it at least thirty times. Not exaggerating - my toddler kept bringing me this book over and over, and half of the time when I finished it, he would take it and open it right back up to the first page. Aside from just being tired of reading it over and over, it's really a great little book about a baby who goes to visit her grandmother. It incorporates a lot of sounds into it and is just a warm, family-based book.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these two board books, Baby gets to explore their urban home. In the first book, Nonna takes Baby to the park where they see a squirrel, a grasshopper, and a pigeon before having to head home. Baby scooches and crawls toward each animal until they scamper, jump or fly away. In the second book, Mamma and Baby head across the city to visit Nonna. They have to take many types of transportation to get there, including a stroller, the bus, a boat and the train. When they head home after the visit, they take the vehicles back in reverse order. A loving and warm look at life in an urban setting with a Hispanic family at its heart. Appropriate for ages 1-3.

[briz · Rating 5 out of 5]

PROs:
- Charming incorporation of Italian culture in a genre (board books) that is severely lacking in it.
- Good values are role modeled by Protagonist Baby in obeying your parents when they put you in a jacket, put you in a stroller, take you to various places, and then decide when the trip/fun is over and it's time to go home. Narry a tear in sight!

CONs:
- Unrealistic expectations placed on mom who takes NUMEROUS forms of public transportation for what seems to be a 30-minute visit to Nonna's house. They take a water taxi, for God's sake!

Five stars.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Ashland Public Library. We picked it because he is 1/4 Italian.

He liked looking at the baby and even took the book from me to read it himself at one point. I know the point of the book is to expose kids to many forms of transportation, but dang, it is quite the trek to Nonna’s house!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Baby gets to ride in a stroller, a boat, a bus and a train all on the way to see Nonna. What a fun adventure, for a fun baby. Bright and colorful. No flaps to pull, so my kid wasn't interested in it :)

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for trips. Baby takes the bus, a boat and a train to see Nonna with mommy while daddy stays home. A complete story from saying good bye to dad, riding the transportation, playing with nonna, riding back home and being excited to see daddy again.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby goes for a ride in a stroller, on a bus, in a boat, and on a train to see Nonna. Ciao, Baby! It's filled with lots of lovely sounds, and always there is the chorus of Ciao, Baby.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baby is going to see Nonna. Mamma and Baby take different modes of transportation to get from one place to another.

2019 storytime theme: transportation

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Kellee Moye]

At library storytime!

[Lauren Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

May I look half as fabulous as this mother after using four types of public transportation 🙏

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely board book about a mother and baby going to visit Nonna. Toddlers will identify with the family relationships and will especially appreciate the traveling by stroller, bus, boat, and train.

[Little Owl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book for babies!

[Elizabeth]

Baby and Mamma travel to Nonna's house -- in a stroller, and then on a boat, and a train, and a bus. And then they play a variety of games at Nonna's house before returning home. But while goodbyes and hellos to Papa bracket the story, and game-playing is that the literal center, as the title suggests, all the vehicle-riding really feels like the bulk of the book -- complete with sounds for each vehicle.

While Ciao, Baby! in the Park was a quiet book, with only two human characters and a few animals, this book has lots of background human characters and leans into diversity -- there are characters with lighter and darker skin than our protagonist family; there are people wearing hijab, different Black hair styles (cornrows, etc.), Sikh turbans (I think), even niqab.