Good Books for Child Siblings

I have recently been blessed with two new grandchildren. Well, one is here and one will be here very soon. Both of these grandbabies will have older siblings – older brothers in both cases. Although both sets of parents were very excited to have new babies, both sets were also worried about how their first children would handle the news of a new baby in the house. Luckily for them there are many, many books that address this very issue.

My oldest daughter gave birth to her daughter on April 20^th, 2012. She came home to big brother Miles. When mom and dad first decided to tell Miles – who was three years old at the time – that he was going to be a big brother, he really didn’t have much of a reaction. He pretty much said, “Cool,” and that was the end of the conversation. Mom and Dad let the subject drop and decided he just wasn’t ready for the news quite yet.

Later, they brought the subject up again. This time they also read the book, The New Baby, by Mercer Mayer. Miles loves the Little Critter books and he loved this book, too. Mom tried to explain to Miles that soon there would be a new baby in their home, as well. Still, Miles just didn’t quite understand. So Mom and Dad waited a little longer.

When Mom’s tummy started getting really big, Miles was suddenly really interested. Mom and Dad reread The New Baby and told Miles again that soon there would be a new baby in their home. They told Miles that the new baby lived in Mom’s tummy for now, but would soon come to live in Miles’ bedroom. Miles asked lots of questions about the new baby. He wanted to know if it was a girl baby or boy baby (it was a girl baby.) He wanted to know if it would sleep in his toddler bed with him (no she would sleep in his old crib.) Miles wanted to know if the baby girl had a name (yes – she would be called Samantha.) And that was the end of that conversation for awhile.

Through the following months, Mom and Dad read more books with Miles about the new baby and talked about her with him. He became more and more excited as the time for baby Samantha’s arrival grew closer. Miles particularly liked I’m A Big Brother by Joanna Cole because it talked about all of the things he could do with his new baby sister once she arrived. When Mom and Dad read this book, he would ask questions about baby Samantha – Can I hold her when she gets here? (Yes – if you sit very still and be very careful.) Will she cry a lot? (Maybe – you did when you were little.)

With my other grandson, Jaxon, and his Mom and Dad, it was a little different – but not much. They are expecting another son in early July 2013. His Mom and Dad told him immediately about his new sibling on the way. Jaxon was excited all at once. He wanted a baby sister – first of all because he thought there could only be one boy and he was the boy – so in his mind it HAD to be a sister. But more importantly, Miles was going to have a sister and he wanted a sister, too. He wanted to make a phone call to Miles – and I let him. It was just too cute – I wish I would have recorded it. It went something like this, “Guess what Miles?” “What?” “Imma be a big brother, too!” “You are?” “Yeah!” “Cool! – You a big boy, too, then!” “Yeah, I am!” “Love you!” “Love you, too, bye!” Click

Jaxon’s Mom and Dad have also been reading lots of books with Jaxon to help prepare him for his new baby – which will be a new brother. Jaxon’s favorite book at the moment is Babies Don’t Eat Pizza by Dianne Danzig. It has lots of cool pictures in it and tells a lot of information about new babies. He also likes the Berentstein Bear’s New Baby by Stan and Jan Berenstein. Mostly because he likes the Berenstein Bears and in this story, they are getting a new baby, too.

There are many great books to read to your children if you are expecting a sibling for them. There are picture books, chapter books and books written by experts. Only you know your child – or children – best so only you can choose the best book for your child or children. I have added a list of some of my favorite books below, as well as author an retail price.