Love Is All Around

by Nikki Shannon Smith

Published 6 December 2022
This first book in the Brown Baby Parade series celebrates Black and brown babies and delivers a universal message of love, letting all babies know that they are cherished from head to toe.

Love is in the bathroom when Daddy combs my hair.
He picks out my Afro and clips in bows with care.
 
Love is in the kitchen. We all sit down to eat—
waffles, milk, and sausage, and yummy syrup sweet.
 
A little girl observes the ways that love is shown and shared throughout her day. From Sister’s kisses when she wakes to eating breakfast with her family and playing with friends at school, love is all around.

Nikki Shannon Smith's soothing, rhythmic text and Ronique Ellis's warm, welcoming illustrations pair beautifully to create heartwarming scenes of everyday life. It’s never too early to show little ones that they are valued and cherished, and this book does just that.

It’s Halloween, and little friends are all dressed up! Follow along as they go from house to house, having fun and saying "Trick-or-treat!" in this second installment of the Brown Baby Parade series.

It’s Halloween!
Time to go—off into the night.
Little friends all dressed up.
They are quite a sight.

A group of friends in costumes have a blast trick-or-treating from house to house. Each friend is dressed up, so you'll see a ballerina, an astronaut, a pumpkin, and even a president! 

Nikki Shannon Smith's soothing, rhythmic text and DeAndra Hodge's warm, welcoming illustrations pair beautifully to create heartwarming scenes of brown babies in everyday life. The varied costumes on children of diverse skin tones allows these kids to envision themselves in any costume they like!

It's almost Christmas! Count down the days with festive activities in this next installment in the Brown Baby Parade series.

It’s 10 days ‘til Christmas!
We set up our tree—
ornaments, twinkling lights,
pretty as can be.

It’s 10 days ’til Christmas! A little girl and her family prepare by putting up the tree, wrapping presents, baking delicious treats, and much more. Read along as they count down to Christmas Day!

Nikki Shannon Smith's soothing, rhythmic text and Letícia Moreno's warm, welcoming illustrations pair beautifully to create heartwarming scenes of Black and brown babies in everyday life. The many seasonal activities will allow kids to relate no matter how their families celebrate!

There is a lot to do on the family farm! Read along in this sturdy board book perfect for children ages 0-3 as a boy helps his grandfather in this next installment of the Brown Baby Parade series.

Papa’s farm is big.
There’s so much work to do!
Papa smiles and says,
“I like to work with you!”

A little boy helps his grandpa weed the garden, feed the chicks, fix a fence to stop escaping goats, and so much more in this sweet story. Nikki Shannon Smith's soothing, rhythmic text and Amanda Quartey's warm, welcoming illustrations pair beautifully to create heartwarming scenes of everyday life. The joyful depiction of Black rural life will allow children to see themselves and encourage interest in their local farming communities!

It’s time for some Easter fun! Read along as a young girl spends Easter Sunday with her family in this next installment of the Brown Baby Parade board book series that's perfect for ages 0-3.

I quickly spy a pink egg.
But guess what? There are more!
We have to keep on hunting,
much harder than before.

A little girl and her family celebrate Easter by visiting loved ones, eating a special meal, and going on an Easter egg hunt.

Nikki Shannon Smith's bouncy, rhythmic text and Ashley Evans's vivid, welcoming illustrations pair beautifully to create heartwarming scenes of everyday life. The joyful depiction of a Black family celebrating Easter traditions together will allow children to relate no matter how they celebrate!