What We're Reading Wednesdays...Big Brother Edition

An only child recently became a big brother.

a sweet moment thanks to bribery

He had no idea what was about to rock his little world, so we tried to prepare him. While I was pregnant, Samuel would constantly search in the couch cushions for "Baby Hudson." He drew pictures of him that included, "knees and a tail." Then we knew we needed some serious preparation that the baby would be, in fact human. :)

He was curious about him, but not too crazy about the idea of him once we began assembling Hudson's room.

So, I purchased a few books to try and prep our little guy for the transition. We found a few that we LOVED.

I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole

 This is a big book. Our guy loves to carry it around and talk about his "big muscles." He still loves to read this book. The pictures are simple and bright. It has a good rhythm to it when read aloud. The ideas and words are simple enough that he can "read" it to himself just by looking at the pictures (he's memorized some pages).

It's a cute book. It approaches the subject by letting the big brother know that the baby needs his mommy and daddy's time, but explains that the baby is too small to do anything on his own.
Samuel likes the idea of being a big brother when reading this book (that feeling just fades afterwards...ha!). The book does a good job of bringing excitement to the new title of "big brother."

Za Za's Baby Brother by Lucy Cousins

picture from Amazon.com, here

This book is still a favorite in our house. The book is bright, small enough to carry in small hands, and simple enough to memorize. It focuses on Za Za's mommy and daddy not having as much time for him/her as before (I'm not entirely certain if Za Za is a boy or girl, okay? lol).

When researching books, I noticed a few negative reviews for this book because of this subject. But, it's a tough reality to approach. Cousins does it in a friendly manner. The book can be read in an upbeat, fun way so that the "Daddy is always busy....Mommy is always busy....I played by myself" lines do not seem awful. In the end, Za Za gets alone time with Mom and Dad after the baby is put to bed.

I think it's a great little book - our guy still likes it, and even asked me to read it to him yesterday!

It also taught him that flowers for Mommy while in the hospital were a MUST! :)

Brothers Are for Making Mud Pies by Harriet Ziefert

picture from Amazon.com, here

Adorable little book! This quickly became a favorite during my pregnancy. This book helped Samuel learn that a brother would eventually be fun. It was eye opening for him! ;) (especially after Za Za taught him that we wouldn't have all day to spend with him! lol)

It's a lift-the-flap book, so it's fun to read. The pictures are cute. It's appropriate for a big brother or big sister as there are pictures of both with a baby brother. It's one of my favorites. I noticed that the author also wrote Sister are for Making Sand Castles. How cute! Hopefully one day, I can purchase that one! :)