Babies on the Go

A city kid is a happy kid, according to Michelle Sinclair Colman. And she should know—her uniquely humorous, tongue-in-cheek board book Urban Babies Wear Black was inspired by her own experience being pregnant and raising a son in downtown Chicago. “I wanted to write a book that celebrated raising kids in the city,” Colman tells Playthings, noting, “Cities are such amazing and stimulating places for kids.” As it turns out, that point of view resonated with city moms everywhere, and they snatched up copies of Urban Babies in droves. “It really seems to connect with a lot of passionate people,” Colman says of the book, whose early success—and placement in chic museum shops like New York's Museum of Modern Art—earned it two sequels, plus a line of onesies and baby tees (www.ubwb.com). “It resonates with people and they really seem to enjoy its humor. All the books are meant to be a lot of fun for the parents and the kids they read them to.” Additional product is being planned for the rest of the books in the series and a third sequel, Winter Babies Wear Layers, will debut from Berkeley, Calif.-based Tricycle Press in the fall. “To date, everything that I write comes from real life experiences I have with my son,” Colman says. “We moved from the city to the country, so Country Babies Wear Plaid was a natural follow up. And then we went on a beach vacation and so on.” Tricycle Press will also publish New Babies: Baby Journal, which Colman hopes will fill a need in the market. “I am really excited for this because when I was pregnant with my son, I searched everywhere for a cool and fun baby journal,” Colman says. “[It] has the same style and humor as my series.” That style is due in large part to artist Nathalie Dion, Colman adds. “[She] is an absolutely amazing illustrator. The first time I saw her work, I knew she was perfect for this project. She has the exact blend of elegance and humor that I was looking for.” So what's next for Colman? “I'd love to write a book about urban babies around the world,” she says, or “a day in the life of a toddler. It seems my writing follows the development of my son.”