Where Could My Baby Be
Home Style Teachers / 3 April 2024

Where Could My Baby Be?by Ashley Vercammen, Illustrated by P Aplinder KaurPublished by Home Style TeachersReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$20.00 ISBN 9781778152962 Of the several books I’ve read by Saskatoon writer, publisher and teacher, Ashley Vercammen, Where Could My Baby Be? is among the best. Vercammen’s selected motherhood—in its myriad incarnations—as the subject of a children’s book, and she’s done so with both a generous and a gentle eye. The illustrated softcover opens with the suggestion that the book “is perfect for sparking conversations about motherhood with your little one,” and I agree. I’ve been reading and reviewing children’s books for decades, and this is the first I’ve read that presents such a wide lens re: mothering, and how “there are a lot of ways to do it!”. P Aplinder Kaur’s initial illustrations show a woman breastfeeding (age-appropriate depiction for young readers); a woman changing the diaper of an active baby; an expectant mother having an ultrasound; and an anguished-looking doctor giving a seated woman—face in hands, supportive partner standing behind with his hands on her shoulders—the news she does not want. This introductory page pulls no punches: “Being a mom is hard work!” In the following pages we’re introduced…