On Baba’s Back

According to National Geographic, “a female koala carries her baby in her pouch for about six months. When the infant emerges, it rides on its mother's back or clings to her belly, accompanying her everywhere until it is about a year old.” Readers meet Koko and Baba at the point where the joey is about to literally take its first steps towards independence. The cover and opening spread present a pair of kolas as they might actually appear in nature, but the following spread reveals that readers are going to find some fun in the dissonance between what Dubuc’s text says and what her illustrations show. In this case where the text reads, “Koko eats on Babas’s back”, while the illustration shows Baba holding eucalyptus leaves, a staple of koalas’ diets, a now more anthropomorphic appearing Koko is clutching an ice cream cone that is dripping on the head of an exasperated looking Baba. Other fun happenings occur until, on another day as Baba is out walking with her young passenger, Koko is distracted by a butterfly that flutters by, and Koko wants to follow it. However, when Baba does not listen to Koko’s repeated commands to change direction, the joey slips off Baba’s back and goes in pursuit of the winged insect. Though Koko has taken a step towards independence, the final spread finds a blanket-covered Koko once again on Baba’s back because it’s bedtime.

A minor point of possible distraction is Dubuc’s choice of the word Baba as the given name of the adult koala. While young readers will likely assume that the adult animal is Koko’s mother, in some cultures, Baba is a substitute term for grandmother, and, in other cultures, it can be used in place of father or grandfather.

On Baba’s Back is a sweet, amusing story that features an animal that, in the real world, appears incredibly cuddly. Children will delight in the expressions on the characters’ faces in the illustration accompanying the text, “Oops! Koko pees on Baba’s back.” On the other hand, adult readers, especially those who are parents, will just nod in recognition. Dubuc offers youngsters a visual Easter egg in the form of a ladybug that appears somewhere in every spread and which can be sought out during later readings. On Baba’s Back would be a good addition to home libraries, day care centres and public libraries.