449
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #43,640 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Negative racial overtones
I really want to like this book. Concept, simplicity, repetition, photos are all great. But major problem:
“Look at the HAPPY baby”
Smiling blond, white baby.
“Look at the SAD baby”
Sad baby of color.
“Look at the ANGRY baby”
Angry baby of color.
“Look at the SURPRISED baby”
Shocked baby of color.
“Look at the SILLY baby”
Smiling white baby.
There are photos of each baby making a variety of expressions, but the featured images assign the two smiles to the two white babies, leaving two very negative and one slightly negative emotions for the babies of color. This could have VERY EASILY been done differently, yet it chose to follow stereotypes. Kids don’t need to see more examples of happy white babies - big editing mistake.
