"The first collaborative work by world-renowned picture book creator couple John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury" A masterpiece that delicately portrays the excitement and jealousy of welcoming a new sibling One of the most anticipated titles of 2010 – co-published in the UK, US, and beyond "When is the baby coming? What will we name it? … Can't we just tell it not to come?" The moment children hear that a new baby is on the way, their feelings become wonderfully complicated. There's the excitement of "I'll finally have someone to play with!" tangled together with the worry of "What if the baby takes all of Mom and Dad's love?" "There's Going to Be a Baby" follows a mother and child through the nine months leading up to the new baby's arrival, as they talk together and imagine all sorts of possibilities for what the baby might be like. The book beautifully captures the subtle emotions of a child who feels jealous about the coming sibling, but ultimately comes to accept and love this new member of the family. This is the first collaborative work between world-famous picture book creators John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury, a husband-and-wife team. Burningham's signature playful imagination blends perfectly with Oxenbury's witty, warm illustrations. This picture book celebrates the precious gift and joy that a new child brings to any family, leaving readers with a deep sense of happiness and warmth. The First Collaboration from Picture Book Masters John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury John Burningham, who wrote the story, and Helen Oxenbury, who illustrated it, are both considered among the greatest picture book creators in the world. "There's Going to Be a Baby" generated buzz even before its release, simply because it marked the first time these two masters had worked together on a single book. John Burningham is regarded as one of Britain's three great picture book artists, alongside Brian Wildsmith and Charles Keeping. In Korea, he has been voted readers' favorite picture book author for beloved works such as "John Patrick Norman McHennessy," "Granpa," and "Mr. Gumpy's Outing." His first picture book, "Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers," won the Kate Greenaway Medal for the best picture book of the year in Britain, and he won the same award again for "Mr. Gumpy's Outing." Famous for capturing children's inner worlds with remarkable insight, Burningham has said the secret to his imagination is that he's "still a five-year-old at heart." Even in his seventies, he retains the pure, curious spirit of a child. Helen Oxenbury began illustrating picture books after marrying John Burningham, inspired by his influence. She is the beloved illustrator behind the long-running bestseller "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," known for her warm and affectionate illustrations. Her vivid character work using watercolor and drawing in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" earned her the Kate Greenaway Medal as well. John Burningham reportedly began developing the idea for this story about a child getting a new sibling over 15 years ago. When he finally completed the story after years of careful refinement, he asked Helen Oxenbury to illustrate it — believing she was the only one who could truly capture a child's innocent imagination and emotions. Oxenbury spent a long time considering how to depict the child's vivid imaginative scenes, eventually settling on a cartoon-style approach, finished digitally to achieve just the right mood — a new technique for an artist who usually worked in colored pencil and watercolor. Through this process, the masterful and beautifully crafted picture book "There's Going to Be a Baby" was born. Excitement vs. Jealousy: A Masterful Portrait of a Child's Complex Emotions The book alternates between real-life scenes of the mother and child talking, and fantastical scenes imagining what the new baby might be like. This structure perfectly mirrors the book's theme — allowing readers to feel the child's complicated emotions as the story moves between reality and imagination. Though these two threads may seem separate, they are woven together into a single, harmonious narrative. In the real-life scenes, we see the mother and child talking about the baby to come. As the seasons change, the child moves back and forth between anticipation and uncertainty...