Jimmy Fallon is going back to the book that launched his side career as a children’s author—this time, with a Major League Baseball twist.
On Monday night’s Tonight Show, Fallon announced that he is partnering with MLB on two new books: Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Yankees and Your Baby’s First Word Will Be Dodgers.
“Parents spend months of their lives trying to get their babies to say ‘Mama’ or ‘Dada,’” Fallon told the audience. “Some parents dream bigger.”
He then revealed the two books.
“I’ve been working on this for a while,” Fallon said. “They’re available for pre-order now.”
Written by Fallon and illustrated by longtime collaborator Miguel Ordóñez, the 32-page board books are set to be released February 2, 2027.
Each is essentially a team-specific spin on Fallon’s first children’s book, the 2015 bestseller Your Baby’s First Word Will Be DADA, with farm animals enlisted to help parents convince their kids that “Yankees” or “Dodgers” should take precedence in their vocabulary.
The two books extend an increasingly sizable children’s-book bibliography for Fallon. Since DADA, he has released Everything Is MAMA, This Is BABY, NANA Loves You More, and PAPA Doesn’t Do Anything! (But Love You). He also wrote 5 More Sleeps ’til Christmas and 5 More Sleeps ’til Halloween, and co-wrote the bilingual children’s book Con Pollo with Jennifer Lopez.
Fallon’s forays in children’s publishing put him in some familiar company. Late-night stars have become unusually prolific children’s-book authors, with Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and others all making the jump—a trend LateNighter explored in 2024, looking at the surprisingly natural overlap between writing jokes for adults and writing funny, economical stories for kids.
The timing of Fallon’s new baseball books is particularly convenient. Both teams whose names he’s hoping babies will learn are still playing in October: the Yankees and Dodgers are each competing in the 2026 MLB postseason.
Pre-orders are open now for both books.
