Hilda and the Runaway Baby by Daisy Hirst

Daisy Hirst wowed me with her first two picture books, The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head and Alphonse, That is Not OK to DO! . Her work is an unforgettable blend of the absurd, everyday childhood emotions and superlative story telling. With Hilda and the Runaway Baby , Hirst delivers a bit more of the absurd and every day than emotions, but it's every bit as memorable and marvelous as her first two books. Hilda is a pig who lives in a small tin house at the bottom of a hill who thinks to herself, " I think I ought to be happy. Life is peaceful. Nobody bothers me. I am always where I expect myself to be. " In the village at the top of the hill is a baby who is never where people expected him to be. Hirst writes, "He usually turned up somewhere, but it worried his mom and dad." When the buggy the baby is in rolls down the hill toward Hilda, she springs to action. Not only does Hilda slow the buggy and save the baby, they strike up a conver