I Kissed the Baby!

by Mary Murphy

Mary Murphy’s big, eye-catching graphics and bouncy, ebullient text are sure to enchant readers who are celebrating a baby - or relishing their own claim to the title.

"I saw the baby! Did you see the baby?"
"Yes! I saw the baby, the teeny weeny thing."

It’s so exciting! News of the baby is buzzing from animal to animal, with each one - fish, bird, squirrel, insect, frog - boasting of seeing, feeding, singing to, tickling, and kissing the tiny little thing. With bold black-and-white illustrations and a flash of vivid yellow for the wee chick’s appearance at the end, Mary Murphy’s simple, singsong story captures the giddy commotion only a baby can bring.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Love, Fiction, Family

16 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Children's author and illustrator Mary Murphy enchants even the youngest of readers with her bold style, combining eye-catching graphics and a bouncy text that seemingly jump off the pages.

Mary Murphy has an advanced diploma in Visual Communications and has written and illustrated a number of children's books, including her lift-the-flap, pull-the-tab book about friendship, ROXIE AND BO TOGETHER. In addition to creating children's books, she teaches illustration. The author-illustrator lives in Galway, Ireland.

Reviews

[Ellias · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the part when Mommy says, "Yes, I kissed the baby, my own amazing baby, and I'm going to do it again." I like to run over to her and give her my face for a big kiss, then I quack, just like the duck in the book.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babies are magic! Everyone wants to be nice to them! Too bad we forget this lesson as babies grow older.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great black and white illustrations for little ones!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really is the perfect first book for baby. The sing-song verse is simple, repetitive, and predictable, perfect for baby's growing brain. The illustrations are in high contrast black & white, with one or two (two on the very exciting pages) splashes of bright color, perfect for baby's developing sense of sight. Each two-page spread features two voices-- a very sweet book to read along with daddy or an older sibling. Actions such as tickling and kissing are emphasized by the verse, making it a great book to act out. This book easily translates into an interactive bonding experience for reader and baby alike. Love, love it!

[Beyondthebookends · Rating 5 out of 5]

This black and white board book is perfect for newborns since they can only see black and white initially. Make it interactive by following the tasks talked about in the book – tickling, hugging and kissing!

For 12 more great board books check out this post:

https://www.beyondthebookends.com/201...

[10TX · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a five star book for it's intended audience--very young little ones. This book will not entertain a 5 year old and likely not a 3 year old, but the high contrast pictures and the sing-song repetitive dialog perfectly hold a language learner's attention, and the surprise ending will put a smile on their face.

Whenever I read this book, I always give a prolonged kiss that ends in a loud smack on the page with the kissing noises. This is something that my children came to look forward to, each in turn, and made it one of their favorites at the appropriate time in their development.

5 stars for children under 3.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't intend to review a lot of Children's Books, but because I've read this one soooo much AND my baby LOVES it, I decided to add it.

Reading this story with enthusiasm goes a long way. Originally, I had checked this out from the library on a recommendation from Highlights magazine, but when I saw how much my son loved it, I had to buy it for him.

Like most children's books, it's super simple, but the story arc here isn't as flat as many of them and I think the repetition of question/statement is really engaging for him.

This will easily be a gift I give to any new mom.

[Laura Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a baby coming and there is a lot of commotion between the different animals. They are all so excited about the baby that they all try to see the baby, feed the baby, sing to the baby, tickle the baby and kiss the baby. I would use this book to read to the entire class, because it is very exciting. I would use this book in a thematic unit about families. I like this book because it is good for a young child to get excited about a new brother or sister on the way.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both my baby and I greatly enjoy reading this together. He likes looking at the cute black and white images and seems to enjoy the repetitive nature of the story. I enjoy having an excuse to tickle, sing to, and kiss him according to what the animals are doing in the story. My favourite part of the story is when the Mom says "of course I kissed the baby, my own amazing baby!" which reflects how of course I love to kiss my own amazing little guy.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit it - I am a sucker for sweet children's books about a mother's love for her child. I am also a sucker for board books for my infant, so this was a perfect addition to our collection. The high-contrast b&w illustrations are great for small babies, and the text has a nice cadence and plenty of characters to voice, making it a great read-aloud book. The best part of this short read is that you get plant a big ol' smooch on your baby at the end...ppfffwah!

[Romelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concept book with big, bold text and shadow-like illustrations. The simple language is sing-songy and fun to read out loud. This is a perfect book for toddlers, especially since it is available as a board book. This could also be a great gift for a toddler expecting a sibling. It's a story about the exciting arrival of a baby and the things you can do with a baby like kiss, feed, tickle him/her.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is fun to read out loud (which is good because we read it out loud several times every day). There are lots of opportunities for silly voices, cuddles, tickles, and kisses. The black and white drawings are "good visual stimulation" for little babies (or so say the child development folk who know these things).

[jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The black and white pictures in this book would be great for a young baby to look at. The question and answer format would be good for teaching about questions and answers as well as providing repeated words for new readers. Very simple plot. Several fun animals. I liked the sparse use of color.

[Tanya Wadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, short, fun illustrations, shows everyone's desire to be close to and interact with the baby. I read it about four times in the last 2 days... I think it's fun because I like to use voices for the different characters in the story (without that I don't know if it would be 5 stars).

This would be great to read to a younger infant because of the large black and white pictures.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animals share their excitement and love for a new duckling. This book will appeal to toddler's senses. It features bold illustrations, primarily rendered in black and white, and a catchy, sing-song text. The book's format is slightly larger than the average board book and therefore might be hard for very young children to hold on their own. A recommended purchase for a public library.

[Tdavis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrated mostly with black-and-white pages and dash of color the text and pictures stand out. This book is designed perfectly for little eyes and ears.

Early Literacy Skills:

Narrative Skills
Phonological Awareness
Print Awareness
Print Motivation
Vocabulary

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, it's possible that we like this book even more than Karina (2.5 months) does. It's easy for her to keep her attention on the black and white shapes, but really, what makes this fun are all the opportunities for us to kiss her. :) She is starting to get the giggles now when we kiss her, so I think we'll keep this one in the rotation for a while.

[Jazmin Palma]

Cute little book for little ones to read. Great black and white illustration, they really caught my daughter's attention. She likes the book a lot. It also contains good action words that toddles and preschool will enjoy learning and doing. An activity that I would do is give the children black paper and white chalk to do their own animals.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, I know I'm weird, but this book makes me feel like I'm being brainwashed by animals, or something; like if I read it backwards, it would say, "Paul is dead". BUT my littlest ones love it - probably because of the colors.

[Mary Peble · Rating 4 out of 5]

High contrast images are perfect for an infant's limited sight and promote brain development.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably baby Alfred's favorite book so far (nice high-contrast images and semi-predictable repetitive text).

[Maeve’s Reading Adventures · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second set of baby books Maeve and I got at the library.

Great black and white high contrast books for newborn and young babies

“ “I kissed the baby! Did you kiss the baby?” “

“ “Of course I missed the baby, my own amazing baby. And I’m going to do it again! Ppfffwah! “ “ 😚

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is V's absolute favorite book.

[Rachel Renbarger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love that it's high contrast but what the heck was that ending?

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful board book, high contrast pictures, lots of verbs, lots of cues to help parents play along and use expressive voices. Simple, but rounded up to four stars because, had I this when mine were little, I would have memorized it and done the playing even when not reading the book, and my littles would have loved it.

[Jack Kirby and the X-man · Rating 3 out of 5]

The high-contrast illustrations and sing-song text would make this book perfect for a very young child. As such I'd get the board book version!

I was all set to get on a high-horse about the promotion of breastfeeding in children's books with a bird and a squirrel (maybe?) both saying they fed the baby - then realised that the baby in question is a baby duck...

This would be perfect to read with your toddler and a brand new "Number 2/3/4, etc"

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, with simplistic drawings and dialogue. But our girls seemed to like it. In fact, my youngest has borrowed it a couple of times from the library.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah-dorable. Will be using this one soon in baby storytime.

Used in Baby Storytime on 9/22/23. :)

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out of the library for Cassie who at the time was ten months old. I always want my kids to start having a love for books at a young age. So soon after they are born I start reading books to them to create that love. "I Kissed the Baby!" by Mary Murphy is a book that has contrast of colors in a board book about seeing a baby.



We loved this book and my daughter Cassie loved looking at the pictures. I loved reading the text to her and doing the actions that I read. This is a great book to read to an infant.

[Lisa Gemert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book packs a punch in just a few pages. It's adorable, and full of the repetition in stories so important for little ones. I love the contrast of the black and white illustrations.

It's perfect as a read aloud because the reader can easily do the actions. For older siblings, there are some fun words to say/repeat ("the wriggly giggly thing").

I don't have high expectations of board books, so this was a real surprise in how much it caught me up! Highly recommend.

Note: I was given a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.