In Pea Pod Babies, Karen Baicker delivers a wonderful book for triplets (or non-multiple siblings) to help them learn they are each different and unique, not simply three peas in a pod. Whether they like it or not, triplets are always lumped together as a group. In fact, triplets struggle to define themselves and find their individuality throughout their lives. It's not uncommon for triplets to rebel against generalizations directed toward them as a group from a young age and compete (as all siblings do) for attention and independence.

As the mother of triplets, I've probably been overly sensitive to ensuring my children are treated as individuals. For example, I don't buy matching clothes for them, their names don't start with the same letter or follow some sort of pattern or style, and I try not to refer to them as "the triplets." In spite of my efforts, I'm sure they'll still feel like they need to work hard to be treated as individuals rather than a group for many years to come.

Children's books like Pea Pod Babies can help young triplets, like mine, understand that they are unique parts of a very special group. Pea Pod Babies is about three babies magically sprung from a pea pod into a fantasy garden. Their rebellion against being grouped as a unit starts almost immediately when they are given matching hats. Rejecting the matching hats, each pea pod baby heads off on a unique adventure which clearly show these three babies are not the same at all. As they face different challenges throughout their journeys, their personalities shine, and it's clear they are much more than just three peas in a pod afterall.

Karen Baicker's poetic style presents a sensitive subject in a fun way that appeals to all children, not just triplets. However, the use of three babies in the story (Sweet Pea, Snow Pea and Snap Pea), helps the story speak directly to triplets who struggle for individuality on a daily basis. Sam Williams' illustrations are a perfect complement to the story and help create the magical feeling of the garden where the pea pod babies live.

Pea Pod Babies is very popular among parents of triplets and is recommended frequently as a perfect book for triplets among members of The Triplet Connection (the largest support group for parents of triplets). There is also value in this book for twins, quadruplets or even singletons. Not only is Pea Pod Babies a cute children's story, but it also helps promote individuality which can be a problem for all multiple and non-multiple siblings. There are a few very special books on my children's bookshelf, and Pea Pod Babies by Karen Baicker is one of them. In fact, there are very few children's books written for triplets, so it's always exciting to find one that is well written and addresses an issue that is particularly relevant to triplets. I don't know whether Karen meant to write this book for triplets or not, but I do know triplets are the ideal audience for Pea Pod Babies.