Welcome to the World, Little Baby: A Baby Records Book

By Melissa Greenwood

Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

Melissa Greenwood was born on her Gumbaynggirr jagun (homelands) in Coffs Harbour and raised between both Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung nations. Her carefully crafted stories include Miimi and Buwaarr, Mother and Baby, Giinagay Gaagal (Hello Ocean), My Little Barlaagany (Sunshine), and Miimi Marraal: Mother Earth.

She says of her work: ‘My strongest inspiration for my art comes from my country. The land we live on is everything; the earth is our greatest teacher, our knowledge holder and our divine authority.’

Her latest, Welcome to the World, Little Baby, is a First Nations illustrated baby records book which includes poems and lots of space to record a baby’s special moments.

While most baby record books have the standard pages – birth, weight, name, first photo, first overnight sleep, Melissa takes a more chatty approach. Her book, as well as the standard favourites, gives pages where parents can describe the story of the birth, special memories and list the family’s favourite musicians,  movies, authors (!), foods and sports teams. There is even space to note how much a litre of milk costs. The last page is dedicated to record special moments from a baby’s first year.

The colours are mainly tones of pink with some soft blues and greens. I am not a fan of ‘pink for girls and blue for boys’  as there are so many other colours in the rainbow.  The design and colour choices here, while very attractive, soft and beautiful, do not make the book gender neutral, but obviously it is up to the individual to decide.

A charming thoughtful gift for new parents.

ABC Books AU 2025