Book Description
for How to Be a Baby by Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Unlike most of the picture books about new babies that deal with the jealousy an older sibling, this one focuses on the things an older sibling can do that a baby can’t. It cleverly helps to build the older child’s self-esteem while showing what life with a new baby is like. The older sister here is a confident, chatty girl who is eager to tell us just how boring it is to be a baby, like her little brother. He can’t talk or do anything for himself, he has to eat boring food and play with boring toys, he has no real friends, is unpopular with cats, and can’t even face the right direction while riding in the car. The older sister makes being a baby sound entirely unappealing. By the end of the story, however, the big sister makes it clear that she loves her little brother and is looking forward to the day when he’ll be old enough for some real fun. Spritely watercolor illustrations show an energetic little girl, in charge of her world, and her roly-poly baby brother who is destined to be her sidekick. (Ages 3–7)
CCBC Choices 2008. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2008. Used with permission.