Her infectious read-aloud How Kind! starts when Hen gives Pig an unexpected present and doesn’t end until a whole barnyard full of animals learns that kindness is contagious. This universal tale, she says, is about “the great feelings kindness generates, for giver and receiver. It’s about how kindness spreads—and how givers always receive.” Electric-bright colors infuse the lesson with a vitality that appeals to readers of all ages, who will be tempted to take Mary Murphy’s suggestion to “try shouting ‘How kind!’ whenever you read it in this book.”

In I Kissed The Baby!, Mary Murphy changes her palette but not her striking style. With bold black-and-white illustrations and a flash of vivid yellow at the story’s end, the buzz spreads from animal to animal as each boasts of seeing, feeding, tickling, and, yes, kissing, the new baby. “This book is about how excited everyone is to welcome a new baby into the community,” explains the author-illustrator. “It’s best read, like a nursery rhyme, by whoever is holding Baby at the time.” As a starred review in Publishers Weekly notes, “With an animal cast so elated that they seem on the verge of jumping into readers’ laps, Murphy offers indisputable proof that a newborn is one of nature’s most powerful mood enhancers.”

Mary Murphy has an advanced diploma in Visual Communications and has written and illustrated a number of children’s books, including her lift-the-flap, pull-the-tab book about friendship, Roxie and Bo Together. In addition to creating children’s books, she teaches illustration. The author-illustrator lives in Dublin, Ireland.