There's Going to be a Baby

Title: There’s Going to be a Baby

Author: John Burningham

Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Medium: Wavy lines, colorful, watercolor

Theme: The boy is anticipating for the baby to come. He tries to predict what will happen when the baby comes.

Summary: When the boy’s mother told him that there’s going to be a baby. He started to think about what will happen. He predicted many things such as if a baby grew up to be a chef, artist, gardener, and few other fields. The baby would be messy and the boy worries about that. However, he still can’t wait to meet the baby.

Literacy Elements:

Setting: The book includes different locations such as restaurant, home, bus, park, and bedroom. Setting is backdrop because it is not significant to the story. The book mostly shows the boy’s prediction, which leads to his imagination. It could happen anywhere for the boy and his mother.

Style: It is written by first point of view. The boy is a narrator in the book. The illustrations include the mother and the boy’s clear emotions that would attract readers that they could empathize with them. Most readers could relate to the story. It is light and entertaining for the readers, especially for children who are going to be older siblings for very first time in their lives.

Plot: The plot is light and flat. It shows the boy’s imagination, as it could be called prediction. The boy has strong attraction bond with his mother. He shows his emotion anticipating for the baby to come. The reason I say it is flat because there is no deep climax or conflict in the book. It is just not knowing what will happen.

Characterization: The main character is the narrator, boy. The second character would be his mother. The boy had different emotions and thoughts when the baby is coming. They are important to the story because the point of the book is for the readers to empathize and relate to mother and especially boy.

Evaluation: I like this book even I am youngest sibling. I am close to my older sister and this book reminded me of her. She is three years and half older than me. So she was about three years old when I was born. She experienced similar to the boy in the book. It also reminded me of home video that showed how excited she was to see me for first time on the day I was born. This book is excellent because many readers including children can relate to their experiences.