When the babies came to stay

by McDonnell, Christine,

Format: Print Book 2020
Availability: Available at 7 Libraries 7 of 7 copies
Available (7)
Location Collection Call #
ACLA Mobile Library Services Preschool Children's Picture Books J PS PB MCDONN
Location  ACLA Mobile Library Services
 
Collection  Preschool Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  J PS PB MCDONN
 
 
Bethel Park Public Library Picture Books PB McDONNELL Christine
Location  Bethel Park Public Library
 
Collection  Picture Books
 
Call Number  PB McDONNELL Christine
 
 
Monroeville Public Library Juvenile Picture Books J E MCDONNELL
Location  Monroeville Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Picture Books
 
Call Number  J E MCDONNELL
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Picture Books j Ea MCDONNELL Christine
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  j Ea MCDONNELL Christine
 
 
Northern Tier Regional Library Picture Book J PB MCDON
Location  Northern Tier Regional Library
 
Collection  Picture Book
 
Call Number  J PB MCDON
 
 
Shaler North Hills Library Juvenile Picture Book j PICT BK MCDONNELL
Location  Shaler North Hills Library
 
Collection  Juvenile Picture Book
 
Call Number  j PICT BK MCDONNELL
 
 
Wilkinsburg Public Library Children's Picture Book E MCD FAMILY
Location  Wilkinsburg Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Picture Book
 
Call Number  E MCD FAMILY
 
 
Summary
A gentle, humorous story has a significant message of love and acceptance.

The first baby arrived on the mail plane, the second two on the ferry, the fourth asleep on a pile of nets, smelling of mackerel. Who were the babies? Where did they come from? The notes left with them said "Please keep this baby safe" and "Please give my child shelter." Only the librarian can take them home, and the library is where they grow up. The whole island helps to raise them. The fisherman teaches them to cast from the pier, the ferryman shows them charts of the sea, and from the harbormaster they learn to recognize birds.
"Who are you?" other children ask. "Why don't you look alike?" The librarian gathers them in her arms. "Families don't always look alike," she says. "And where we're going is more important than where we came from."
This charming, lighthearted fairytale contains a message of acceptance that is particularly significant for our time.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review: "One eventful day on an unnamed island, four babies arrive, all needing homes. One girl comes by plane, hidden in a mailbag. Two boys are found in a canvas carrier on the ferry, and the last little girl is discovered sleeping in fish nets. The infants have notes asking that they be cared for, and so the harbormaster, ferryman, fisherman, mayor, and librarian work together to create space in the town library for the babies now named Agatha, Bram, Charles, and Dorothy. McDonnell's whimsical story has a fairy-tale quality to it, thanks to the mysterious joint arrival, the uncomplicated way the librarian, Eleanor Book, adopts the children, and the idyllic island setting. Bradley's pictures contribute to the magical tone by portraying Agatha in a hot-air balloon, Bram and Charles in a small sailboat, and Dorothy with a mermaid's tail. Loose, flowing illustrations have the look of watercolors, pen, and ink. A gentle, loving story that will be appreciated by book lovers and many kinds of families.--Lucinda Whitehurst Copyright 2020 Booklist"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Additional Information
Subjects Newborn infants -- Juvenile fiction.
Islands -- Juvenile fiction.
Librarians -- Juvenile fiction.
Adoption -- Juvenile fiction.
Families -- Juvenile fiction.
Babies -- Fiction.
Islands -- Fiction.
Librarians -- Fiction.
Adoption -- Fiction.
Family life -- Fiction.
Publisher New York :Viking,2020
Contributors Bradley, Jeanette, illustrator.
Audience Ages 2-5.
Language English
Description 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 24 x 28 cm
ISBN 9781984835451
1984835459
Other Classic View