Baby Ruby Bawled

Families suffering with a baby who refuses to sleep may find this book a little too realistic. Ruby won’t sleep in her cot, not at bedtime, not at naptime. Big brother Theo loves her, but is perturbed by her constant crying. Dad gives her a bath; that’s okay. Mum feeds her; that’s okay too. But whenever she is put into the cot, she bawls. Nana, Grandad and Uncle Clyde all get into the act, but nothing works. The family take her to the doctor in desperation, but she is pronounced ‘fit as a fiddle’. What to do? It is Theo who sings her a lullaby, which puts him and the rest of the family into an exhausted sleep, but little Ruby just lies there, wide awake but quiet at last. This is a nicely-tuned unexpected ending to the story, and the strong, painterly illustrations are quite superb. Published on the Tamarind list of ‘books for a multi-cultural world’ this story features a mixed race family.