Books are a wonderful way to not only connect with your child, but to convey thoughts and ideas. As soon as we found out we were expecting another baby, I knew that I wanted to invest in some great books to help Vivian understand the process and adjust to the changes coming to our family. I wanted books that were both accurate and informative, but also understandable for her at two and a half years old. Another important thing to me was finding books that put younger siblings / babies in a positive light, rather than focusing on “parents love new baby more than me” and other negative elements.

We have found some pretty great resources and I wanted to share them with you here! Below are some books that we have gotten and loved during this time of anticipating our newest family member.

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Little Big Girl

Little Big Girl, by Claire Keane

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.

I love this book. The darling illustrations with their minimal color palate, the simple text, the sweet message. It’s beautiful through and through. It takes only a few minutes to read, which is great for short attention spans.

One thing that I appreciate about this book is that while it is about a little girl and her baby brother, it is written in such a way that it is easy to change the baby’s gender to suit your family (as in our case). The words “boy” and “brother” are never used, just male pronouns. While I have no problem reading Vivian a story about a family different than ours, I also don’t want her to be confused when our baby is born and it is a little sister, not a brother. Whichever way you read it, this is a wonderful book for big-sisters-to-be.

How Big Is Our Baby

How Big Is Our Baby, by Smriti Prasadam-Halls

When a new baby is on the way, siblings-to-be have lots of feelings and plenty of questions. This sweet and reassuring guide explains each step of the pregnancy journey and helps little ones feel involved and excited.

This is a fantastic book for helping little ones to understand pregnancy and what it means to have a new baby! It starts out by congratulating the new big brother or sister, and then goes on to explain why and how babies grow in the womb. It goes through each of the 9 months of pregnancy, comparing baby’s size to objects that are likely familiar to your little one. It also explains some of the ways baby develops each month. At the end, the books puts a positive light on the changes that your home will inevitably experience and reassures your child that even if some things may be different, they are still just as loved as ever.

I like the cute illustrations in this book and that while it gives accurate information, it is related in a simple and understandable way. This book covers a lot of ground without being too long and is formatted in such a way that you can easily leave out portions of the text if you feel it is too much for your child’s attention span.

Big Like Me

Big Like Me, by Anna Grossnickle Hines

“I’m going to show you I everything,” big brother says proudly to his tiny new sibling. And recalling his own, not very distant experiences, he is the perfect guide to the wonders and discoveries of a child’s first year.

Part of me loves this book for its dated-ness. It was published in 1989 and the illustrations are very obviously from that time period. It is a sweet story written from the perspective of a big brother to his baby sibling over the course of the little one’s first year of life.

My only problem with this book is that at times I have difficulty figuring out the cadence of the words. Some parts of the books rhyme, some don’t quite but flow nicely, and some feel a bit random. The style feels inconsistent – but at the same time, this book is from a little boy’s point of view, so in that way perhaps it doesn’t matter. Either way, I find this book to be very sweet and Vivian has always enjoyed it.

Maple

Maple, by Lori Nichols

When Maple is tiny, her parents plant a maple tree in her honor. She and her tree grow up together, and even though a tree doesn’t always make an ideal playmate, it doesn’t mind when Maple is in the mood to be loud—which is often. Then Maple becomes a big sister, and finds that babies have their loud days, too. Fortunately, Maple and her beloved tree know just what the baby needs.

This is the most recent addition to our library, gifted to us by my sister, and I love this book. The illustrations are charming, the story simple yet engaging.

Where Do Babies Come From?

Where Do Babies Come From?, by Katie Daynes

A delightful way for young children to discover where babies come from – from baby humans to kittens, caterpillars and kangaroos. Young children can lift the flaps to find out how babies are made, when they are born, what new babies need, and how they grow.

The question dreaded by all parents! But Usborne tackles it beautifully, answering common questions that children have about pregnancy and babies in an honest but age-appropriate way. It also talks about numerous animals as well, and the unique ways they reproduce and their differing gestation periods.

I love interactive books, and Usborne Books & More has an incredible array of them. Flap books in particular are a favorite with kids of all ages. Just resign yourself to knowing that the flaps will get wrinkled and folded and likely torn at times, and that’s okay. (even more so with Usborne’s 50% off replacement policy!) Books are meant to be cared for, but I’ve had to remind myself that it’s okay to let the children’s books get loved on. Vivian is pretty careful with books, but things still happen sometimes. Whether my books are pristine or a little worse for wear, it brings joy to my heart to know that she is getting her fingers on those pages and soaking in so much goodness from these stories.

Those are my book recommendations for the big brother or sister to be! What books would you add to this list?