What DOES baby say? Not much! Although I'm fond of Ms. Katz's "Where is Baby's Belly Button" I was horrified by this book. What baby "says" is not one real word in the whole volume. What is the point of teaching your child that some babies say "ba ba" for bottle? Emerging speech is going to sound different on every toddler. If YOUR baby says "ba ba" for bottle-- that's absolutely terrific but you should follow it up with "RIGHT! SMART GIRL! THE BOTTLE!" and not repeat the baby talk. Baby talk is fine... as long as it comes from the baby.
I promptly returned this book.

Overall, I really like this book. But, as a nursing Mom, I find it frustrating when so many baby books show babies asking for a bottle. In this one, it says, "What does a hungry baby say?" and you lift the flap to see a baby drinking from a bottle saying "Ba-Ba." That page didn't make sense to my son. Not that I expect to see a picture of a nursing baby, but I just think she could have shown a baby being spoon-fed and say something like, "Num-num". But, we still enjoy the book.

I love Karen Katz books (Where's Baby's Belly Button? Daddy and Me, Where's Baby's Mommy, Counting Kisses). This one has the same great pictures and durable format as the books we love. However, all the words under the flaps are in baby-talk (goo goo, boo boo, ba ba, night night etc). Since we never talk to our baby using those words, this book is a disappointment for us.

We have all the Karen Katz books, but my daughter (17 mos) seems particularly attached to this one, perhaps because the babies are doing things she does. It's really fun to read it to her because she relates to the baby on each page: hungry baby who wants a bottle, sad baby who has a boo-boo, cranky baby who is crying, and finally, sleepy baby who is nestling down for the night (or nap). The illustrations are lovely and the paper is heavy and survives many a firm baby grasp. A great shower gift and a good one for anybody's baby library.