Books (Fiction) That Help Prepare Kids for New Sibling

My 2 boys are 20 months apart too. As several have recommended, my older son loves "I'm a Big Brother" by Cole. He also loves Mercer Mayer and he enjoys the books about siblings that he wrote- "The New Baby" and "Just Me and My Little Brother". I bought all of these on Amazon, and the Mercer Mayer ones usually less than $4 each.

Usborne has some books on that subject... email me at ____@____.com and I will let you know more about them

Our favorite was called "God Gave us Two," by Lisa Tawn Bergren (she also wrote God Gave us You, which is adorable too). Big Sister Dora was also a big hit, although in both of those books, they end up with twins in the end...just make sure you tell your little one he's only getting ONE! I'd also ask at your local library. We got some great books there, including one (sorry--I can't remember its name) that had pictures of what was happening in the belly. My daughter talked about the baby "swimmin around in there." One word of caution with books...some bring up issues of jealousy/bad feelings, and many times, those thoughts have never occured to a 20-month-old. Read through them carefully before you buy or read them to your little guy...I really prefer the ones that talk about joyful aspects of being a big sibling while explaining that babies take time and love from parents, etc. (not the ones where a character thinks "mommy doesn't love me any more" and gets really sad or mad), also ones where it's referred to as "our" baby. My daughter was 19 months when her brother was born, and my second was 21 months when the youngest came. It's a great age gap: the older two get along amazingly well, and my 2-year-old absolutely adores his 3-month-old baby brother. Good luck!

We got I'm a Big Brother by Joanna Cole and Maxie Chambliss for our son. We also got him his own "baby" that he could take care of. I think he transitioned pretty well from being the only child to a big brother who adores his litte brother!

L.,

My son likes Joanna Cole's "I'm a Big Brother". It gives some expectations like the fact that they can't play with the baby right away. He was 23 months when my first daughter came and is almost 5 now that I just had my second daughter. He still likes the book and had fun reading the big sister version with my daughter as well.

Good luck and congratulations on your new addition!
A.

Most series of character books (Arthur, Berenstein Bears etc.) seem to have books on this subject. I am not sure what your son is into, but perhaps they have a book that will talk about new siblings. This way, he is familiar with the characters and may understand it more.

Check out Amazon or another bookstore's website, you may have to order since stores carry such a limited selection of series books.

We have a book called "God Gave us Two", by Lisa Tawn Bergren. It's actually a big sister who ends up having twin siblings, but it's really a sweet story about why the parents are happy about having another baby, but will always love their first child. Good luck, there are lots of good books out there!

Joanna Cole writes one called "I'm a Big Brother Now." She has a version for big sisters too. It talks about what to expect the baby to do and not do. It also talks about the things big kids can do and what big brothers can do to help out. It's cute with nice illustrations and simple straight forward text.

My grandmother bought "I'm a Big Brother" by Joanna Cole for my oldest son and he loved it. There is even A Note to the Parents page in the back with information on what a big brother needs to help prepare him for the new arrival.

A book that I got for my daughter when we were expecting our second is called "I'm a Big Sister" by Joanna Cole. They also have "I'm a Big Brother" as well. I actually got the book at Motherhood while I was shopping for myself. It basically talks about being able to help hold & feed the baby. It also talks about the things the big sibling can do such as eat pizza, and play at the park... and that the baby can't do that yet. Its really a simple book, but my daughter loved it! She still likes reading it even though her brother is old enough to do those things now. Congrats on the upcoming arrival of your second baby!

The Bernstein Bears and Franklin the Turtle both has books and/or videos that are DIRECTLY related to that. In addition, I KNOW (I remember because I used to work at a children's bookstore, but can't remember the titles) there are others. Call or go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble and tell them what you are looking for. I'm SURE they can help!

I sell Usborne Books and we have a variety of books for Babies and Toddlers. "Baby's Day Board Books", "Baby's World", "Snuggletime Board Books",We have a "Look and Say Board Book for (Baby Brother)," and many other good books.

Check out my website: ubah.com/T2267

You could get some free and 1/2 priced books if you Host a party. We do E-SHOWS for those out of town or unable to make it to a party. Let me know.

J. R.
Educational Consultant, Usborne Books

My boys are 22 months apart. We read I'm a Big Brother so many times before the second arrived I could probably still recite it from memory:-) I would recommend it.

My daughter was exactly 20 months when her little sister arrived as well! I got her the book "I'm a Big Sister" by Joanna Cole and they have an "I'm a Big Brother" as well. Both my kids still love that book! I did make the mistake of not really talking to my daughter about how babies need lots of attention and how things were going to change and I really wish I had. I know at 20 months they really don't get what is happening, but you are on the right track with trying to prepare him! Having 2 kids that close in age is an interesting experience! You'll be surprised how much you "miss" your older child because your attention is suddenly pulled away. Good luck with the new baby!

Hi there. I haven't read any of your responses so I hope I'm not being repetitive. When we had our son, our daughter was almost 20 months. We started reading her "I'm a Big Sister" by Joanna Cole a few months before we were due. I know they have ones about becoming a big brother, too. We'd talk about each page and look and talk about the pictures. We even called the little girl in the illustrations by her name and the parents were Mommy and Daddy. She still calls all the characters our names when we look at that book. I hope this helps. Good luck with your transition.

Hi L.,

I am a bit late, but congratulations!

Does your hospital have a sibling preparation program? If so, ask them for recommendations too.

K. Z.

Lots of people have suggested Joanna Cole's books- they're terrific but a little hard to find- check TJMaxx and the bargain shelf at a bookstore if you can't find it in print anywhere.

We also got a Karen Katz book called I'm the Big Brother (or something like that) which talks about all the things bigger siblings can do that babies can't.

i bought my son "authors' new baby". we didn't go into alot of books, mostly it was us telling him about how tiny is baby sister was going to be and since he was "big boy" now he got to help look out for her & teach her all the cool things he could do. he's now 6 1/2 yrs. & she's 15mo. & he's very protective of her with strangers & plays with her without having to be told, you can really see that she looks up to him already & her face lights up when he gets home from school.

Congrats!
The book that I recommend is "What baby needs" by William and Martha Sears.
My soon to be 4 year old was given this just prior to having our second 7 months ago and he STILL reads this! When the baby is fussy, he always recites something from the book as to why he could be fussy!
My SIL got the book at Barnes and Noble!
Hope this helps!