Product Description

Take it from the narrator of this book, an all-knowing big sister: when you're a baby you don't read books. You eat them. You don't know how old you are, or even if you're a boy or a girl. And you have to keep a special plug in your mouth to stop your scream from coming out. But one day, you won't be little anymore, and then you'll be taller and smarter, and actually quite clever. Like the narrator. And you'll be able to share memories of what it was like when you were little with your incredible Big Sister.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #605230 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-13
• Released on: 2007-02-13
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3—"When you're a baby, you are in a crib and not in school," according to a worldly wise big sister, who reads from a book she has written for her new sibling. She itemizes a long list of things that babies cannot do, including play with her toys, sit in a car "like a normal person," or "have ANY pillows on your bed." Although she tends to focus on the negatives, in the end the unnamed protagonist admits that babies have some uses. She tells her brother that babies are "good at hugging" and "people smile at you because you're so small." She also describes what life will be like when he gets bigger, looking forward to the day when they will "laugh and point at pictures of you in the olden days when you were a baby." The comical cartoons subtly convey the love that the rosy-cheeked girl feels for her round, placid sibling despite his limited abilities. The text and illustrations are scattered across each page in varying patterns. Heap uses acrylic paint, crayon, and felt-tip pen in a pleasing palette of pinks, blues, and yellows to enhance the story with childlike charm. This amusing title could be paired with Amy Schwartz's humorous Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner (Scholastic, 1991). For a more poignant look at sibling relationships, young readers might prefer Shirley Hughes's Annie Rose Is My Little Sister (Candlewick, 2003).—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* There are lots of books about kids and the babies they must endure, teach, and love, but few get the interaction down as perfectly as this marvelous melding of knowing observations and funny, sunny, on-the-money art. The narrator, a little blonde girl, has a long list of things that babies can't do. Go to school? No--stuck in a crib. Eat normal food? No--yucky baby food. Thinking of things that are inappropriate for babies reminds the girl of the many ways in which she's superior: babies don't have any real friends, but she has lots. The tall format offers plenty of room for the sweet, saucy, child-appealing watercolors, some looking as though they were created by the child herself; certainly the lines and squiggles on a few of the pages enhance that feel. Lists also cleverly adorn many of the pages, with headings such as "Things Babies Do That Are Illegal" (poop on the carpet). But in a heartwarming ending, Sister lists things that are nice about being a baby (people don't tell you to stop being a baby because you are one) and envisions the happy day when her brother gets big enough to follow her around, learn from her, and play with her friends (sometimes). With lots to look at, think about, and giggle at, this book will get many readings. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"All the things that a baby needs to know-and more importantly, all the things that a big sister does know-are covered... The final pages... find both children so close that they can share nostalgia for "the olden days when you were a baby'-a suitably sweet ending for this tribute to the way love grows." -- Publisher's Weekly

"While Lloyd-Jones begins her story on a comical note, she deftly conveys the angry/wistful tumult of emotions children often feel when confronted with the arrival of a new addition... her wry musings are on target... A perfect antidote to the new-baby blues for siblings." -- Kirkus

Imagine if Eloise - the pint-size scourge of the Plaza - suddenly found herself someone's big sister. She'd probably sound just like the nameless narrator of "How To Be a Baby," a wonderfully silly litany of all the things babies can and can't do - and, more important, can't play with, beginning with "My bike. My Rollerblades. My Game Boy..." Still, even a baby grows up - at which point, our narrator tells us, "I will still let you hold my hand when you're afraid (Because you will still be a little bit little)." With illustrations as cheerful and cheeky as the text, this is a must-have for the new big sister in everyone's life. -- NY Post, March 2007

Starred Review. "The child perspective is spot on; it is clear that the baby is missing out on all the wonderful things in life that are at the center of the six-year-old world. What is most successful about the story is the original take on sibling relations; it doesn't overtly address resentment or jealousy or adjustment issues (though this will be a great salve for kids struggling with these issues), but humorously acknowledges that babies and kids are different and can do different things...This is perfect family fare and a welcome departure from storybooks that assume the worst when a new life joins the family." -- Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books, April 2007

This book is adorable, original, well-illustrated and fabulous.

Between the title, which perfectly sums up the tone and content of the book, and the foregoing sentence, there's really nothing else you need to know. If I were you, I'd jot down the title so you can check it out later, skip the rest of this review and get on with the book section and/or your day.

If, however, you insist on reading on -- which I assure you will involve more or less a reiteration of the above but with a few additional 25-cent adjectives -- then here you go.

Sally Lloyd-Jones and Sue Heap created this book in such a way that it feels as though the concept, story and approach were all ripe and whole somewhere in idea space, just waiting to be plucked, and they were the ones who grabbed it.

The story begins with the infinitely wise guru of an older sister announcing, "When you're a baby, you are in a crib and not in school." This wonderfully abrupt and confident opening sets the stage perfectly: big sister knows everything in the universe, big sister is doing new baby/us an incredible favor by imparting all this wisdom, and new baby is (at least for now) not so much a person as he is an audience.

The how-to manual covers a wide range of topics including "real clothes" versus pajamas, reading, food, fears, baths, manners, friends and sleep, to name a few. Talking: "You talk, but no one knows what you're saying, because you just make it all up." Singing: "You don't know the words. Or the tune. (I know the words and the tune AND THE DANCE.)" Car seats: "You don't even face the right way. (I prefer to sit in a seat like a normal person.)"

There are supplementary "what else" lists throughout the book, like "Here's What Else You Can't Do" and "Here's What Toys You Don't Have and You're Not Allowed to Play With." One of the last such lists -- "Here's What Else Babies Are Good At -- cues the book's emotional shift, and the final eight pages celebrate siblinghood while still keeping it real (i.e., maybe you're not so bad after all, and I wish you well as long as you don't surpass me).

Sue Heap's illustrations complement the text in just the right way, and I can't imagine it looking any other way.

In other words, this book is adorable, original, well-illustrated and fabulous. -- THE NEW YORK TIMES, Amy Krouse Rosenthal

This hilarious guide to the behavior of babies, in the words of an affectionate but often exasperated older sister, perfectly expresses siblings' mixed feelings to a baby's arrival. The comical illustrations and astute observations will have immense appeal to older siblings in the target age group of 4 to 8. ("When you're a baby, you don't understand TV. You talk, but no one knows what you're saying because you just make it all up..." etc.) -- The Buffalo News, 2007

Customer Reviews

How to be a Brat
I appreciate the point that this book is attempting to make. However, I really felt like it went too far. Can't we focus on how each member of the family makes a unique (and positive) contribution? Not in this book. In this book it is all about how the older sibling is superior to the younger one.

A few quotes to illustrate my point:

"When you're a baby, it's not good because you don't have any hair. (I have long hair like a princess.)"

"When you're a baby you don't have any real friends. (I have lots.)"

And, my personal favorite, a quote about riding in a car seat...

"You don't even face the right way. (I prefer to sit in a seat like a normal person.)"

This is NOT the kind of relationship I want to encourage my children to have with their younger siblings!

I think the author could have found a better way to acknowledge the fears that an older sibling has about the "baby invasion". Yes, babies are "strange" and different and a little funny (or scary) but the things they do are normal for babies. Why do we have to apply negative value judgments to them in order to feel good about ourselves?

I skipped over large sections of this book while reading it to my daughter and I'm glad I got it from the library because it will be going back immediately!

A MUST for precocious big sisters
My mom bought this for my 3.5 year old -- who is the proud older sister of our new baby -- and it was an unqualified hit! This is our new favorite book to read and it never fails to inspire fits of giggles. The author has done a marvelous job of capturing the combination of love, bemusement and pity the older sister feels for her baby sibling. (And it has just the right amount of poop and pee references for four years olds who can't get enough of that sort of thing.) For any older sisters who are in danger of regressing, this book reminds them that it is far better to be the big sister than the baby. I plan to give this book as a gift many times over.

right on target
This book is wonderful for children who are expecting a little brother or sister. My grandaughter wanted to read it over and over again and it displaced some of her fears. The book was Right On.