We Just Had a Baby

May 1, 2016

PreS-Gr 2-A fun and precious book about the important job of being a new big brother. A new baby in a family is always exciting, but what if you are brand-new at being an older brother and having this baby was "not your idea"? Krensky and Graux skillfully pair rich text with smooth and clear illustrations to show how a young boy reacts to his new baby sister. Young readers with baby siblings will readily identify with the main character's trepidation about this new little person as it soon gives way to acceptance and excitement. Especially sweet are the ways in which the role of an older sibling is shown to be important in the baby's development. After all, as this baby grows up, her older brother has "big plans" for them. This is a great book for younger readers and will be relevant as many of them share the experience of getting a new baby brother or sister.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2016
A new older sibling introduces baby sister to readers. New-baby picture books abound, and they often hinge on conflict arising from an older sibling's trouble adjusting. Not so in this milquetoast offering from Krensky and Graux. The unnamed, first-person narrator describes initial ambivalence, which then suddenly shifts. The child goes from feeling a distancing pride in what big kids can do as opposed to what the baby can do (eat pizza and ice cream, use a toilet) to eventual engagement with the baby and hopes for how they will play together once she gets older. Splashing together in the bath and playing peekaboo are the turning points, but there's never much of a hook to pull readers into the story; indeed, there's never much of a story. Meanwhile, Graux's soft illustrations overemphasize the characters' eyes to display emotion and reiterate the textual statements without doing much to extend the narrative. The family is white; the parents are heterosexual; there's nothing to set this book apart. Ultimately, there's nothing particularly new about this new baby book, and other, better choices on the theme abound. (Picture book. 2-5)

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