Review by Jocelyne Gregory
Margaret K. McElderry Books, March 2024
25 pages, Hardcover, $22.99 CAD, 9781665924931
Picture Book, ages 4 – 8
Fiction
“The Mumfords were exhausted. It took all their strength just to remain standing. Their quiet souls were crushed like their flower garden.”
Metal Baby (not to be confused with the Japanese band BABYMETAL), is a story of patience, love, and the lengths parents will go to get their infants to sleep at night. Mom and Dad Mumford live a peaceful life, listening to classical music and crocheting, when they bring home Metal Baby.
Depicted in a black baby blanket and wearing white face paint, kohl-lined eyes and wild black hair, Metal Baby appears as a chaotic love child between Alice Cooper and KISS. Why the Mumfords chose to bring Metal Baby home is never explained but like all new parents they soon realize that everything they expected to happen with a baby does not. Their new rocking bundle of joy pulls them from their relaxed, quiet, comfort zone and into the world of metal rock music. Metal Baby’s fame grows and he plans a concert in his parent’s front yard. This is when the Mumfords realize they must take drastic action.
The usage of calm, earthy, pastel-like backgrounds act as a great contrast with Metal Baby’s darker colours and help define the difference between the Mumfords previous life and their new rocking life with Metal Baby. The Mumfords and Metal Baby facial designs are expressive and the text is easy to understand.
True to the metal genre, the hard cover version picture book has a vinyl design on the front and back beneath the book flap. The removable book flap has a Metal Baby concert poster on the inside so readers can add it to their walls.
Metal Baby is an enjoyable read that will introduce young readers to the world of heavy metal. Parents will enjoy the humour in the situation the Mumfords find themselves in when they bring home their unique bundle of joy.
Jocelyne Gregory is a published author and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and a creative writing certificate from Simon Fraser University The Writer’s Studio. She lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. She can be found at https://jgregoryauthor.wordpress.com/
YOUNG ADULTING 