A fantastic, fun book, written especially for a 2 year old about the impact a brother or sister will make to his every day life.
On discovering that I was expecting my second child, the question how do we tell our son and how do we prepare him for the change it will make to his life came about. Benjamin was 2 ½ when I became pregnant and although there are some good books out there, most were well beyond his level of understanding at the time.
Off I trotted to my local Borders Bookstore highly motivated and hormonally charged. I struggled to find anything in the children’s department and being as I was and constantly having to run to the loo, there was no time to loose so I grabbed an assistant and she directed me straight to this one. I read through it in the shop and totally blubbered. It was exactly what I wanted. It was that good, I was still blubbering in the queue at the checkout!
Written by Giles
Andreae, known mostly for Purple-Ronnie, this book has a wonderful rhythmic pattern to it and has some fantastic, believable, yet most importantly for a two year old, tangible illustration of things that are happening to the child’s Mummy. He wrote it for his own child.
From the title, you get the hint that it is going to explain everything that is happening to the person who is pregnant as if she has a house inside her and it’s written from a little boy’s perspective. It’s also written in the modern day where the Daddy spends a good amount of time with the boy explaining things that are happening to Mummy but also the child has lots of cuddles with Mummy and baby and even takes a bath with them. It goes on to say that the child used to live in this house too. It’s warm and cosy but there’s no room for a bed so the baby lives in a giant bathtub. It goes so far as to say there’s a kitchen which requires lots of strange things so the baby sends the orders and the Mummy has to eat them so they can find the baby! It also explains the physical affects such as Mummy falling asleep even before she gets undressed and feeling sick. The boy shows his expectations, wishing there was a window so he could show the baby his toys. The book concludes with the arrival of a little brother and says, ‘Look who Mummy has made for us – my lovely little brother! There’s no-on in her tummy now… UNTIL SHE MAKES ANOTHER’.
If you’re not already sold by this description, I can assure you that the illustrations are just as good as the text. Illustrated by Vanessa Cabban, the pictures are delightfully colourful with just enough detail to keep them clear yet interesting. The people are dressed in a modern casual way and the expressions on their faces are clear and simple. Often with bright yellow or orange backgrounds, you see Mummy and Daddy cuddling in bed with the boy having come in and filled the bed with toys and playing cars with his parents… a very realistic scene in our house. Also you see him having a chat whilst cleaning his teeth with Daddy, telling Daddy to be quiet as he comes in the door with Mummy flat out on the sofa and trying to peep up Mummy’s jumper to see if he can see the baby.
What this book offered us was a way to explain the tangible effects me being pregnant had on our son. He would often choose to read it at night with his Daddy or bring it to me in the daytime for a cuddle on the sofa reading it. He was too young to be told the gorey details of the pregnancy/birth which many books go in to and to this day, his little sister, Grace, just popped out in hospital like magic, “Da, da”! (If only!). I would heartily recommend this book to anyone expecting who has a 2-5 year old and even then, it could be used with older children alongside something else.
The version we have comes in a large paperback picture book, currently the RRP is £5.99 although it can be bought from Amazon for £4.49.
Other Details:
ISBN 1-84121-068-4
Orchard Picturebooks
Personal Info:
I delivered within 40 minutes of arriving at hospital and came out fit and healthy. We were fortunate to negotiate a quick turn around, arriving back home soon after 8pm. Benjamin was looked after during the day by his grandparents and he was unaware I was in labour. The first thing he knew was that when we arrived home, we brought in something really special with us… his little baby sister. He was soooooo excited! The photo below was taken within minutes of him meeting Grace.
15.07.2007 15:57
I will have to keep this one in mind when Baby 2 comes along with my little boy... glad all went well - lynsey
10.07.2007 09:47
Excellent review there Claire, well done! Chris x
09.07.2007 13:55
What a wonderful book! So glad everything went ok too. x