My Big Brother

This book is a completely accurate picture of how our one-year-old clearly does see our five-year-old. What's more, it's been so good for the five-year-old! When we finally had our second child we were so worried about how the first would react we flooded him with all those highly-touted picture books about sibling rivalry. Well, guess what: predictably enough, all those books talking about jealousy only gave him ideas. (Show a four-year-old a story about a kid hitting his brother and guess what, he'll hit his brother. My son would actually say, ``I'm just being like in the book.'') Valorie Fisher's book really helped ease the jealousy by reminding Big Brother of how much Little Brother adores him in every way. And adults will find the sly illustrations and text of this picture book refreshing and hilarious. I highly highly recommend it. I haven't seen Valorie Fisher's ``My Big Sister,'' but it looks similar and is no doubt just as good for a girl. And I'd also recommend the tamer but still charming and helpful ``I Used to Be the Baby'' by Robin Ballard; for siblings who regress and start acting like babies to get attention (which seems to be all of them!) it reminds them of the joys of being grown up. Conversely, for those of you whose second (or third or fourth...) children are feeling a bit, well, too much younger, may I recommend ``Tikki Tikki Tembo'' by Arlene Mosel, and ``Titch'' by Pat Hutchins? As a jealous younger sibling myself, I loved these books.

This beautifully illustrated book will bring a tear to a (grand)mother's eye although with smiles and warmth. The author speaks through the eyes of a baby admiring a brother 5/6 years older. Perfect for young readers. This book should be nominated for an award... simply wonderful!!

"This is my big brother. Everyone makes a fuss over how big I am, but my brother is REALLY big..." So begins the unseen narrator, as she discusses the merits of her wonderful big brother. As far as she's concerned he's amazing, talented, and can do just about any and every thing. She knows all this because she watches him all day long. He's her superhero... "I love my big brother, and he loves me." Valorie Fisher's debut children's book is filled with sibling love, wonder, and whimsy as it looks at life through the eyes of a baby. Her simple, spare text sets the stage, but it's the stunning and evocative, bold and playful photographs that really steal the show, and bring this special relationship to life. Perfect for preschoolers, My Big Brother is a joyous, fun-filled celebration of siblings that shows that life just gets better for everyone in the family with each new addition.

Valorie Fisher's My Big Brother is an enjoyable easy-reader picture book, illustrated with vivid photographs and celebrating the relationship between toddler and bigger brother. A charming book for beginning readers that is colorful, fun, and touched with love, My Big Brother is an enthusiastically recommended addition to family, school, and community library picturebook collections for beginning readers.

A sublime new classic that speaks to a childhood anxiety with the same wise artistry as Goodnight Moon or Where the Wild Things Are. Fisher's through-the-eyes-of-a-child photos and text elegantly walk the line between truth-telling and whimsy, wonder and honesty. Best of all she strangles those other idiot-books--the ones that insist the big kids will all loathe their little bro or sis and want to send him or her back. Hello. When the little he or she worships the very ground you walk on... Are you kidding? Would you or I willingly surrender super-hero status?! Fuggetaboudit. No WAY! A must to give to families that are jittery over a sibling on the way. Hey, I'm stocking up.