The Menino

September 15, 2015
The trope that imagines a baby as an exotic creature-or perhaps even an alien-is taken to full and nearly irresistible flower in this picture book for those expecting new babies. Menino is Portuguese for "little boy" but stands in for "new baby" of any gender. His arrival is greeted with astonishment as he completely disrupts the ordered lives of his parents, in the most adorable way. Drawings rendered with pen, ink, and Photoshop look as though they might have been dashed off on kraft paper but are of marvelous sophistication and stupendously squiggly line; they guide readers through the deadpan text. The body and activities of the Menino are described as if entirely new to the observers: his eyes are "two little windows"; "the Poop Fairy Godmother...helps him to empty himself." Though he speaks his own language, eventually he begins to give it up and pragmatically learns what is "spoken at his house." The author marvels at how this creature reminds others of the child inside themselves. She illustrates that by sketching small blue figures inside of the adults who interact with him. The processes of elimination, regurgitation, nourishment, and other perfectly normal activities are illustrated clearly (and with humor). Children expecting a new sibling might take some wisdom here, but it may find its most natural audience in new parents, who can use it as both a primer and a comfort object. (Picture book. 5-8, adult)

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November 1, 2015

Gr 1-4-The Menino-a new human baby-drops from the sky, "naked and yelling, as if to make sure everyone notices. And everyone does notice." Isol's manual on understanding and caring for the new baby identifies, illustrates, and describes each working part of the little one's body (eyes, nostrils, ears, etc.), his bodily processes (for example, the "Poop Fairy Godmother [who] helps him to empty himself of dirty stuff and bothersome gases"), and his daily activities, such as bending into various shapes, playing with his fingers and toes, recording "EVERYTHING in his portable memory," and making people smile. Artwork is comprised of cartoon-style line drawings in black and colored pen and pencil (orange, white, sage, sienna, and blue) on softly lined paper in similar hues. Isol's baby book, competently translated from the Spanish, follows the child through his first year's accomplishments-sitting up, playing peek-a-boo, picking up small toys, getting his first teeth, meeting and recognizing other babies, and beginning to make the sounds of speech. Menino is the center of his parents' world. VERDICT Tongue-in-cheek humor and sophisticated description and vocabulary (articulated, inverse, predilection, docile) that seem more geared toward adults than children make this book's intended audience unclear.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
The Menino arrives, and nothing is the same. This humorous if very peculiar book relates a newborn's journey into being, beginning in utero and covering all manner of baby benchmarks. Isol's waggish third-person text seeks to explain a variety of infantile functions from an alien's perspective, with comical results. On defecation (complete with illustration): For thicker waste, all Meninos have / the same design / another little hole at the back, / hidden by two lovely meaty bubbles / that also serve as pillows to sit on. Scratchy pencil, pen, and Photoshop drawings, colored in a palette of browns and oranges and spots of blue, interpret the text with lighthearted jocularity. Early in the journey we see the Menino encapsulated in his mother's womb, piloting her body through space as he wonders about his destination. As the baby nurses ( He prefers the milk / that is prepared by the woman of the house ), he's attached to Mom's breast, which is drawn with visible milk ducts. Many of the images have double outlines that don't quite line up, either with the coloration or with each other, adding to the sense of new-baby chaos. The book ends on a particularly affirmative note, recognizing our common baby origins and common human trajectories. thom barthelmess

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)