One Round Moon and a Star for me by Ingrid Mennen illustrated by Niki Daly

Do you look like your dad? Do you look like your mum? In a family photo is it easy to see you really belong? 

A new baby arrives in the family. 

Papa "kneels down to look at the baby's tiny hands.
'They look like my hands,' he says.

He looks at the baby's tiny round ears.

'Mama's ears.'

He unwraps the blanket, and there are two small feet with ten tiny toes.

'They will walk well.' Papa nods.

'I'm the baby's father,' says Papa with a smile."

The little boy is confused and perhaps a little bit jealous. He asks the all-important question:

"Papa, are you really my papa too?"

His father gently takes hold of the boy's hands and shows him how they match, how his eyes are also like Mama's eyes. 

"You are your papa's child and you are your mama's child."

Enriched by an African setting, the familiar theme of reassuring a child about his secure place in the family after a new baby is born. ... Daly's freely rendered art reflects the family's joy and affection while nicely evoking the rural setting. Warmhearted and appealing ...  Kirkus

Take a look at my previous post from earlier this year about the illustrator Niki Daly. One Round Moon and a Star for me was published in 2004 and so it is now out of print. I picked up my copy at a recent charity book sale.

Blurb from the illustrator: A young African boy watches a shooting star falling for his Mama's new baby. The whole village comes together to provide gifts for mother and child. But when he sees his papa smiling at the baby's tiny hands which are just like Papa's own hands, his heart grows dark, like a night with no moon. At last he asks, "Papa, are you really my Papa too?" Set against the backdrop of a rural South African village, Mennen's lyrical text coupled with Daly's evocative illustrations are filled with light and darkness; friendship and community spirit; love and hope, telling the universal story of a young boy's journey to discover his own place in the world.

When the baby comes her brother places two stalks of yellow grass in the roof above the door. No men are allowed in their hut for many days after the birth. Village women bring water for the baby. Others bring a cake of soap for Mama, a small lamp so the baby has light and fresh cow-dung for their floor. Papa leaves a silver bucket filled with milk at the door of the hut. If you want to share different customs for welcoming a new baby you could compare this text with Baby Business.