The fear of the dark is a common one among children. When your toddler becomes more…
If you are expecting, you may want to prepare your first-born to the arrival of the baby. There are books that focus on the pregnancy (I will share some recommendations in an upcoming post) and books that focus more on the sibling relationship.
Let me share with you some books that will help to welcome a new sibling! And also to be interesting as your children grow older and the sibling relationship develops.
Sibling relationship can be tricky but there are ways to help. Read my blog post for tips to help siblings to connect from the start.
Here are my recommendations. As always, I select books that are in line with Montessori, it means that they depict reality.
The New Baby - Usborne first experience
This series is perfect for all the first times in your child's life (dentist, doctor, moving house, starting school, ...). There is a big sister and a big brother in this family who is welcoming their third child.
In the same collection, there is also the sticker book.
This book is a gem (albeit the pictures are a bit dated). With real pictures of children in their family and a simple, reassuring text.
The new baby at your house by Joanna Cole
This one is very similar to Mr Rogers' book. Again, this book features beautiful photographies for real families. There are some extra notes for parents.
The same author has two updated versions of the above book. These ones are illustrated as opposed as with real pictures.
One about being a big sister, and one about being a big brother.
In this story, Kate - a new big sister - explains her feelings of being left out and forgotten when her baby brother Daniel arrives. She experiences the typical confusion and mixed emotions that result from having to share her parents with a new and demanding sibling. But with wit and a resourceful nature, Kate explores her new role and achieves the confidence to embrace her little brother. Includes a ""Note to Parents"" by psychologist and author Jane Annunziata, PsyD.
This is a lovely rhyming story about becoming a big sister.
Lola is a recurring character from Anna McQuinn. In this book, Lola takes on her role of big sister and reads to her baby brother. Super cute!
We are huge fan of Lauren Child in our house. This book is not about Charlie and Lola (a great series to read with siblings in general) this time. This book is about the arrival of a new sibling The story is told with humour and with wonderfully stylish artwork.
Matisse is a little girl in a big world. Despite her size, she gets to have all sorts of grand adventures, like seeing the big sights of the city, making big messes, and taking big naps when her little body is all tuckered out. But when Matisse meets her baby brother, she realizes that she isn't so little after all- She's a big sister! And it's great fun to show this new little person what wonders this big world has in store.With warmth and joy, Claire Keane showcases a gorgeous retro-inspired style to tell this tender tale of unconditional sibling love.
A favourite in our family! Ruby imagines what she is going to do with her baby brother!
Ruby's mom is having a baby, but Ruby is not very happy about it. She knows that babies are smelly and noisy, and she is sure that he will steal all of her toys! When baby Leon comes along, will she change her mind about having a baby brother?
A very similar story than the book above.
As six-year-old Emma anticipates the birth of her new baby brother or sister, she imagines all of the things they can do together. They'll go to Grandpa's farm to feed the calves, ride in the back of the mini-van making faces at the cars that go by, fly on airplanes, and someday, they'll even go to Africa on a safari.
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Books for when siblings are older:
After the welcoming a sibling and baby's stage, some books can help with long term sibling relationships.
Rubina has been invited to her first birthday party, and her mother, Ami, insists that she bring her little sister along. Rubina is mortified, but she can?t convince Ami that you just don?t bring your younger sister to your friend's party. So both girls go, and not only does Sana demand to win every game, but after the party she steals Rubina's prized party favor, a red lollipop. What's a fed-up big sister to do?
Despite that this one is not Montessori aligned, featuring talking animals, the story is valuable. I had it in the classroom and it's great book to talk about jealousy and the feeling that nothing is fair when a baby arrives in the family. The story evolves with the baby growing up and the situation changing (like the young sibling has to stay home when the big sibling goes somewhere so it's not fair for the youngest either).
If you have one child at home with you while the older sibling is already in school, then this is the perfect book! A younger sister impatiently awaits her older brother's return from school. As his bus draws closer, she imagines all the fantastical adventures that await them.
A 4 years old is upset that her big brother can do everything better. This book is perfect to talk about sibling rivalry and brotherly love no matter how much siblings fight.
Charlie has autism. His brain works in a special way. It's harder for him to make friends. Or show his true feelings. Or stay safe. But as his big sister tells us, for everything that Charlie can't do well, there are plenty more things that he's good at. He knows the names of all the American presidents. He knows stuff about airplanes. And he can even play the piano better than anyone he knows.
Have you read any of these books?
Do you have any other sibling books to recommend?
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