Walk On!: A Guide for Babies of All Ages

Trying something new is never easy. Like walking, for instance. But aren't you sick of sitting on your bottom day in and day out? Hasn't lying around all the time become a little bit boring? This handy guide, both practical and inspirational, is here to help. With useful tips, common pitfalls, and Marla Frazee's adorable illustrations, this book is perfect for anyone — from a baby to a graduate to a grown-up — who's about to take a scary first step.

"Frazee (Roller Coaster) kicks off a hilarious how-to with these trenchant questions: 'Is sitting there on your bottom getting boring? Has lying around all the time become entirely unacceptable?' It's a pep talk for those ready to leave crawling behind (and for those who may need a refresher). Her exemplar is an authentically determined Everybaby of indeterminate sex, sporting an enormous polka-dotted diaper, with two dots for eyes and a single curlicue of hair. As the little one tentatively moves towards ambulatory independence, Frazee offers advice ranging from tongue-in-cheek tips (a chair is good to pull up on; a potted cactus is not) to wry Zen wisdom ('Feel the sway, but don't let it tip you over') to cheekily upbeat encouragement (it's okay to cry after the first fall; then check to see 'if your diaper is weighing you down....Fix whatever you can before you start over'). The book is as handsome as it is funny, with page after page of elegantly drafted spot illustrations (one sly visual aside portrays the living room layout as a forbidding, garishly yellow terrain). Of course, much of the humor will fly right by the nine to 18-month-old crowd, but Frazee has a bigger audience in mind: eager, anxious parents-both expectant and newly anointed-and impatient older siblings. She'll have no trouble winning them over." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"We cheer along with this kid striding exuberantly off the final page." Children's Literature

"Frazee's saucy invitation to all generations to 'walk on' has just enough kick and sass to incite action in babies (and grown-ups) everywhere." Kirkus Reviews

Marle Frazee has illustrated many beloved picture books, including Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers and Harriet, You'll Drive Me Wild! by Mem Fox, as well as her own Santa Claus the World's Number One Toy Expert and Roller Coaster. She lives in Pasadena, California.