Follow the authors

The gigantic baby Paperback – January 1, 1991

by Mordicai Gerstein (Author)

The more a baby cries, the more she grows, until her brother thinks of a way to reverse the process and turn his gigantic sister into a normal-sized infant.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Whether or not readers live with younger siblings who seem to cry incessantly, they will appreciate the good-humored absurdity of Gerstein's ( Arnold of the Ducks ; The Mountains of Tibet ) larger-than-life tale about a baby who grows to similar proportions. Wailing day and night, Marvin's newborn sister quickly outgrows her bassinet, her crib--and even the house. The colossal infant is then moved to an airplane hangar, where a fleet of trucks brings her milk and a construction crane delivers the circus tent that serves as her diaper. Just when it seems that nothing is able to stop the child from howling--or expanding--she catches sight of the smiling moon above. For the first time, the baby laughs, then falls asleep and shrinks back to normal size. Heightening the story's droll hyperbole are Levin's cartoony, detail-filled drawings. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-- Gerstein's wacky humor fails here. On her second day home from the hospital, Marvin's new sister begins to cry. Appallingly, the louder she cries, the more she grows; the more she grows, the more she eats; the more she eats, the louder she cries--and on, and on. The doctor assures the harried parents that the baby is perfectly normal except for her astonshing growth rate and colic, which of course makes her cry. Soon the screaming infant is so big that she must live in an airplane hanger and endure diaper changes by a construction crane. It is Marvin who suggests that if the baby laughs, she'll stop crying and perhaps stop growing. Finally, it is the moon that succeeds in making the baby laugh and subsequently shrink to a normal size. While the cartoonlike illustrations successfully depict the anguished family and their disrupted life, they underscore the distress of an unappealing infant who isn't even wanted in her own neighborhood where her shrieking keeps everyone awake. The family is portrayed as harassed more than loving. Even the happy ending fails to satisfy because it is reached, not with Marvin's help, but through the natural intervention of the moon. --Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper & Row; Worn Pages edition (January 1, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 32 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060220740
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060220747
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 3 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Nigel Gray
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
I have had ninety odd books published (some of them, anyway, were odd). A majority were for children and young readers. They range from picture book stories to novels for young adults. Some of the most enduring titles include A Country Far Away; A Balloon for Grandad; I’ll Take You to Mrs Cole; And Kangaroo Played His Didgeridoo; My Dog, My Cat, My Mum and Me; and a collection of 13 stories called, A Baker’s Dozen.
For adults I have written books of non-fiction, plays, story collections, and novels. My latest book HIS STORY – A NOVEL MEMOIR – THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DICK O’TOOLE, is a blend of memoir, fiction, faction, and radical social and political history that is funny, tragic, playful, iconoclastic, and satirical. A journey from bleak house to great expectations, it covers the period 1941-1977, cutting back and forth between the personal life of Dick O’Toole and the major events that were taking place on the world stage.
I have had books published in twenty-four countries and twenty-seven languages. As well as winning The Dickens Fellowship Award, and The Irish Post Award for Literature, my books have won four major international awards, been shortlisted for thirteen more, and have picked up sixteen further honours in Australia, Germany, France, Holland, the UK, and the United States.
I was born in the north of Ireland, grew up in England, and live in Western Australia.
See more on the author's page
Nigel Gray
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page
Mordicai Gerstein
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
See more on the author's page

Customer reviews

5 star

0%

4 star

0%

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work