October 2023 Debut of the Month | A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month October 2023
A joyful celebration of difference that will entertain young readers while encouraging them to be open minded and celebratory about the special things that make everyone different.
Baboo is no ordinary bee. His stripes are pink and black rather than yellow and black and his favourite activity is dancing! Nobody wants too play with him. How he longs to be just the same as everyone else. But then Baboo meets a green ladybird...
A great new friendship is formed and the two take off on an adventure discovering that difference is everywhere and is to be enjoyed!
Whoever heard of a hip-hop loving, bright pink bee? You obviously haven't met Baboo.
As spoken about on Giovanna Fletcher's podcast 'Happy Mum Happy Baby', this is a toe-tapping and dazzling picture book debut from Lliana Bird - writer, film-maker, radio DJ and co-founder of the charity Choose Love - and illustrator Aysha Tengiz.
Baboo, the only pink bee in his hive, dances alone. Then he meets a green ladybird called Lee. By sharing his dancing skills with her, Baboo becomes her friend. But it doesn't stop there: the two insects' toe-tapping talent has caught the attention of all the creatures in the garden.
Finally they start to appreciate Baboo's differences and wish for their own. Baboo reassures them: we're all a bit different in our own special ways. The important thing is to be yourself.
Lliana Bird is a writer, director, actress, podcaster and co-founder of charities Help Refugees and the Kindly Collective. She just happens to also be hilarious. For grown-ups, she and Dr Jack Lewis co-wrote The Mice Who Sing For Sex: And Other Weird Tales from the World of Science, based on their podcast.
Baboo is her debut children's book and she lives in London, UK.
