You Are My Special Baby

Carol Chataway (author)

Danny Snell (illustrator)

Working Title Press, Australia: April 2011

ISBN: 9781921504181

Genres: animal stories, picture book

Issues: family

A gentle celebration of the relationship between caregivers and children, this delightful picture book captures the universal aspects of parenthood.

This very simple book articulates the unconditional love that most parents/guardians have for the children in their care and the limitless nature of that love. Cathaway's poetically concise and powerful text expresses parents' faith in and hope for their offspring – for them to learn, explore, grow and find their own way in our wonderful world.

Danny Snell's illustrations echo the tenderness and affection implicit in the text, as well as reminding the reader that humans are not the only parents on the planet. Delightful illustrations of Australian birds and animals with their young reinforce the emotive nature of the text as well as capturing a different type of parenthood. As Cathaway herself says: 'Danny Snell's illustrations have captured [the mood of the book] exactly. They are a as soft as a possum and as warm as the inside of a joey's pouch.'