Author & Illustrator: Marla Frazee
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Publication Year: 2010
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee
Awards: Starred reviews in Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly, Publishers Weekly Best Book, School Library Journal Best Book
Summary: I laughed out loud when I read the first line of text: "From the moment the baby arrived, it was obvious that he was the boss".......accompanied by genius illustrations of the baby in a business suit carrying a suitcase. With illustrations obviously set in the 1950s, the baby keeps his parents at work, making demands, holding meetings, and throwing fits whenever they don't meet his demands. There were perks as boss- the spa, the gym, the drinks, the jet. But one day no one came when he called so he had to try something different (crawling and saying "mama, dada") and he remains the boss. The built-in metaphor of the book of boss=baby is pulled off incredibly well.
Classroom Ideas: This book is a metaphor. It would be fun to read the text without the illustrations and talk to kids about the way illustrations can help them to understand book better. Obviously, the story is entirely different when seen in its entirety with the illustrations.
