"There was one little baby who was born far away. And another who was born on the very next day. And both of those babies, as everyone knows, had ten little fingers and ten little toes." In a rhyming tribute to babies across the globe, interspersed with the title's joyous chantable refrain, a multicultural mix of nine winsome babies laugh and play together. The final baby in the mix is cuddled by a brown-haired mother who delivers "three little kisses on the tip of its nose." Sweet, soft watercolors and the gentle rhyme and repetition of this story have a timelessness, like a classic nursery rhyme we've recited to babies forever while we count and tickle their fingers and toes, and are a cunning companion for "This Little Piggy Went to Market."

This one's going to be a family favorite to read to babies; one would hope the board book version won't be far behind. Don't miss Mem Fox's fine website, which explains how and when and why to read aloud to children, with audio examples: www.memfox.com.

Themes: BABIES. CHANTABLE REFRAIN. FINGERS. MULTICULTURAL BOOKS. STORIES IN THYME. TOES.