What A Good Big Brother

Landolf, Diane Wright. 2009. What A Good Big Brother. Ilustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher. Random House.

What do babies do best? Well, babies do many things, really, but one of the things they do best is express themselves. They cry. A lot. Cameron, the little boy in the story, is a good big brother. He loves his baby sister, Sadie. He's learning what there is to know about babies. He's finding out quickly that babies cry for many different reasons. The book shows that taking care of a baby is a group effort. There are jobs for mom, dad, and a big brother. (Dad does diaper duty, for example. Mom breastfeeds.) There's a whole lot of crying going on in this book, but there is a surprise there at the end. A happy surprise! Can you guess what it is?

I thought this was a good book, a realistic book. (I enjoyed the illustrations!) Babies can be loud. And crying can be frustrating. But babies are cute--Cameron loves to kiss baby toes--and they're worth it. I like that it has Dad getting involved, being involved. He isn't just passing the baby to his wife and saying, you take care of it, you make it be quiet.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers