Baby Bookworm by Dr. John Hutton and Dr. V.G. Jain

 

 Baby Bookworm by Dr. John Hutton and Dr. V.G. Jain. Illustrated by Leah Busch Rocket. Blue Manatee Press, 2022. Board book.

The reason I am so in love with this small book is that years ago I worked with young families who had babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. They were often scared. Many were single teenage mothers who totally unfamiliar with hospitals and at-risk babies. How I wish we had had this comforting little book back then!

The soft watercolor illustrations are lovely. The words are simple and rhyming. The real asset to the board book, is the hospital setting. The little book is small enough to fit into a purse and take anywhere. It is designed to read to babies in isolettes and elsewhere. Its words are calm, reassuring, and hopeful. Telling about what tiny babies need and encouraging parents to talk and read to them is more than helpful, it is essential.

The authors are pediatric and neonatal specialists. Blue Manatee Press is to be commended for such a publication and should be encouraged to do more like it!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

 

 The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Celadon Books, 2019. Adult thriller/mystery.

Famous artist Alicia Berenson apparently has shot her husband Gabriel five times in the face. She then is mute. That much is known fairly early on in this twisty tale of betrayal and dramatic happenings. After she is placed at The Grove, a psychological care facility in London, no one seems to be able to help her. Enter criminal psychologist Theo Farber (Yes, the same Theo Farber mentioned in Michaelides second thriller The Maidens!) who wants to help Alicia recover her voice.

Twisty, creepy, mysterious? Definitely! I had read the second book first and was interested to see how the characters in both books overlap after I remembered a mention of Theo Farber in it. My one "criticism" of The Maidens might have been that there were so many male secondary characters introduced and that I didn't think really had a place in the narrative. NOW, one of them turns up as the main character Theo Farber in this book. I only wonder who else may roll over into any other books that Michaelides has planned in the future? My advice? Keep a journal. Be careful who you trust. Let your art speak for you. Keep reading!