And After That...

I bought this book (with some other books) for my 2 year old to prepare him for the arrival of the baby. The book is nicely illustrated, it has flips on each page, and begins with the topics that a toddler can most likely associate with. I gave it four stars just because the book does not completely apply to our lifestyle, especially when it comes to food examples. We are also not relying on the text in it much, but make up our own story in those cases that don't apply for us. I am specifically talking about two sets of food pages: chocolate and dinner. The chocolate set begins with an unwrapped chocolate block, and the "after" page shows the stains from the eaten chocolate. The dinner set begins with a nice healthy dinner, and the "after" page shows a desert. Everything makes perfect sense in general, so I believe that this book will be valuable and applicable to many families. We rarely give our son the sweets, and we don't usually have any desert after the dinner. All is just because sugar seems to have too much effect on him, plus we try to teach him healthy eating habits... We usually give him fruits for desert. We are happy with the baby segment of the book as it shows bathing, breastfeeding and sleeping sets of topics. Our son reads this book, but not as often as some other ones on the topic of a new baby.

Can you imagine how confusing it must be for a young child who has just gained a sibling? There must be so many feelings that often go unexplained. They may think, "Is this new baby here to replace me?" or "Why isn't mommy playing with me anymore?" The book, "And After That..." by Jeanne AshBe, explains the concept of a new baby in the family in simple terms. First, it describes simple "before" and "after" things such as day and night. Then, it describes "before" and "after" things that have a good or bad surprise afterward. Lastly, it describes how some things will be different after the new baby joins the family. This book helps children to understand that things will be different after the new baby, but let's them know that they are still part of the family and very special. MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- it explains the concept of a new baby joining the family in very simple terms by using ideas that very young children can understand. There are "child-like" drawn illustrations and lift-the-flaps that are always enjoyable by children of all ages. Young children who have a new brother or sister are sure to enjoy this book!

Our 20-month old just got a new little sister, and this book is great for letting her know how important she is, even with the new addition.