Baby Goes to Market

Join Baby and his doting mama at a bustling southwest Nigerian marketplace for a bright, bouncy read-aloud offering a gentle introduction to numbers.

Market is very crowded.
Mama is very busy.
Baby is very curious.

When Baby and Mama go to the market, Baby is so adorable that the banana seller gives him six bananas. Baby eats one and puts five in the basket, but Mama doesn’t notice. As Mama and Baby wend their way through the stalls, cheeky Baby collects five oranges, four biscuits, three ears of sweet corn, two pieces of coconut ...until Mama notices that her basket is getting very heavy! Poor Baby, she thinks, he must be very hungry by now! Rhythmic language, visual humor, and a bounty of delectable food make this a tale that is sure to whet little appetites for story time.

“Repetition and variation make the book especially good for the young, and its wealth visual detail promises many satisfying rereadings.” Saturday Star

“The vibrant marketplace is filled with color, texture, and patterns created using a mixed-media palette....Young listeners will delight in getting to know Baby and his Mama as they shop throughout the market.” School Library Journal

“The smiling, all-black cast sort through myriad wares, while the text keeps up its rhythm, introducing both typical items bought in a West African market and a gentle lesson in arithmetic...Indeed, no one will be able to resist this baby.” Kirkus Reviews

Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author who started her career doing traditional oral storytelling. Her books include a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor Winner, a Notable Book for a Global Society, a Cybils Award Winner, and an Africana Award Winner. She lives in Wales.

Angela Brooksbank worked as a designer and art director in children’s book publishing before turning her hand to her own illustration. Baby Goes to Market is her debut picture book. She lives in London.