Baby Clown

An award-winning author and a Caldecott Medalist introduce an adorable new circus star — who won’t stop wailing!

When Frieda and Boffo Clown have a baby, everyone in the circus is over the moon. But there is just one problem: Baby Clown won’t stop crying! Frieda and Boffo try everything: putting on their silliest faces, driving him around in their tiny car. They even try taking off his red nose and big shoes. But that just makes Baby Clown cry more. Can Frieda and Boffo turn his little clown frown upside down in time for the sold-out show? Kara LaReau deftly juggles wit and warmth in this hilarious nod to parental persistence, while Matthew Cordell’s big-top-bright illustrations bring Baby Clown and his circus family to humorously frazzled life. Older siblings, in particular, will step right up to this applause-worthy picture book, joining Baby Clown in many a heartfelt “WAAAAH!”

Kara LaReau is the author of many picture books for young children, including Ugly Fish and Otto: The Boy Who Loved Cars, both illustrated by Scott Magoon. She is also the author of the chapter books The Infamous Ratsos, The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid, and The Infamous Ratsos: Project Fluffy, all illustrated by Matt Myers. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

Matthew Cordell is the Caldecott Medal–winning author-illustrator of Wolf in the Snow, as well as many other books, including King Alice and Wish. Matthew Cordell lives in Illinois.