Catie’s brother will arrive in less than two months! (That’s what I wrote four months ago…now I’m astounded that little Zach has transformed from sleeping infant to smiling baby as you can see from the picture Allie sent).
Smiling 2 month old Zach
Still I think of others with young babies welcoming siblings and think the ones I discovered when Catie’s mommy asked me if the G’ma Bookclub might think about including some sibling books.
I happened to have one on hand and right away sent, Il Sung Na’s A Book of Babies (Knopf, ages 2-4). It has colorful art, few words and gives a glorious overview of the animal world “when the flowers begin to bloom and the world starts turning green, animals everywhere are born…” from the noisy ducklings to smooth scaled lizards. The animals are rarely named and that leaves young children a place to join in the telling.
For a small child, preparing for a new baby prep has a lot to do with finding pride in being an elder who will welcome a new child into a world she is only big enough to understand.
Karen Katz’s books are totally in tune with babies and their developmental levels. Her art work is colorful and bold, her sturdy pages have flaps that given extra engagement for little listeners, and the simple text makes situations so straightforward and clear.
She has two great books for young siblings to be, Now I’m Big! (McElderry, ages 2-3) is a series of how everything has improved from the days of being a baby.
Karen Katz has two wonderful books for siblings-to-be.
Tomorrow I’ll put in the mail Lola Schafer’s One Special Day (Hyperion, ages 2-4). It’s the story of a small girl who wants to get her older brother’s attention and there’s lots of imagination to inspire thinking about Catie’s sibling future.
There’s lots of imagination too in the first book, One Special Day (Hyperion, ages 2-4), when this little sister arrives!
