The Very Hungry Pregnant Lady is a spoof of that board book favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The spoof aspect can be a bit much sometimes by having the joke “over played” and done too many times. (Yes, I am looking at you Goodnight Moon spoofs). This time, however, the spoof is hilarious. And it would be the perfect baby shower gift (not so much for the child but for the mother herself). However, there is nothing inappropriate, so a child could have it read to them/read it (unless you do not want to explain heartburn or what having her water break means to a child). What lost a star for me (making this a four and not five stars) is that the pregnant lady has a “body pillow” she uses. Therefore, that modern twist totally turned me off to it. I almost stopped reading as it was the first part of the book. Most people, of course, will have no issue with that.
The story that Emilie Sandoz-Voyer has created is almost identical to its Caterpillar counterpart. And Gabriel McElwain has captured the illustration style of Carle to the point that it almost looks like his work. The format is the same (when starting out you eat one bowl of ice cream and it is the tiniest piece of a page and by the time you get the heartburn you are back to “normal” sized board book pages). Overall, this is just a lighthearted joke at something serious. And hopefully takes a little of the pressure off.
Do not wait for the light of the moon to go find this book!