Tuesday Storytime: Switching Gears to incoming baby siblings

New babies can be a fraught experience, and we've got several storytimers who are going through that process right now, so a small break from Halloween gives us some cute takes on new siblinghood.

The Baby Tree
Sophie Blackall
A cute compilation of all the different prominent American cultural myths about "where babies come from" from storks to cabbage patches to hospitals (vaguely) to the baby tree of the title and cover. At the end, the confusion is cleared up by a medically accurate but child-appropriate explanation of how the baby is made from a seed and an egg, and grows inside the mom until it's old enough to be born. Cute AND useful!

Baby Can
Eve Bunting, Maxie Chambers
Sibling rivalry starts early, and here we have an older sibling who is just a mite jealous of all the attention baby is getting for accomplishments that he can do just fine, but doesn't seem to get noticed or praised for! An attentive and complimentary (and distracting) family good-naturedly accomodate his need for attention in a positive and child-centered way, and by the end, the baby and brother are celebrating their successes together.

Bobo and the New Baby
Rebecca Minhsuan Huang
Bobo is an adorable dachshund, and he lives very happily with the Lees, until they bring home a baby. Suddenly everything Bobo wants must take second place to the baby - all the time! Despite that, Bobo is determined to be helpful and tries to kill a bee in the house, and initially gets yelled at, but when the Lees realize Bobo was trying to protect the baby, they formally introduce the two, and Bobo once more feels like an integral part of the family. (Hardcore echoes of Lady and the Tramp here, but that's probably because it's in the news with the new movie right now.)

Tuesday Storytime: Sharing

These books are all delightful, and I'm glad I had the chance to put them all together.

Mail Harry to the Moon!

Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley

ISBN: 9780316153768

Very expressive faces and cartoony panel/vignette sequences.

Before Harry, there was Just Me.  Now there's Harry, who eats off my banana, who messes with my things, steals grandma's lap, and screams all night.  Our poor nameless narrator is very frustrated, but has a series of great ideas to solve the problem: throw Harry in the trash, stuff him down the toilet, stick him in the zoo, Mail Harry to the Moon!  Until he wakes up the next morning and doesn't see or hear or smell anything from the little guy.  What is there to do but journey to the moon to enact a rescue, and maybe discover that Harry's good for something after all.

On Mother's Lap

Ann Herbert Scott, illustrated by Glo Coalson (original sepia-tone edition)
ISBN: 0070558973 (?)  Published 1972, McGraw-Hill

Serene drawings of an Inuit family share a wise message about mother love.

 Michael is happy sitting and rocking with Mother, but he doesn't want his friends left out of the love, so first Dolly, then Boat, then Puppy, all end up snuggling under a reindeer blanket on the rocking chair with Mother.  But when Baby starts to cry, Michael is adamant that there is just not enough room.  (the facial expressions are priceless here) Mother disagrees, and gently shows that there is always room for everyone on Mother's lap.  Classic for a good reason.

Share

Sally Anne Garland

ISBN: 9781771470056

Sketchy-drawn bunny children in colorful evocative backgrounds.

Bunny's cousin is visiting, and he's not quite as old as she is.  Her mother pleads with her repeatedly to understand and to share, while she tries a variety of activities that the little one spoils accidentally.  Mother explains that he is copying and following and pestering because he wants to be just like her, and commiserates that it's difficult to handle little ones.  The ending is a little confusing, as Aunty retrieves the cousin with the wording "now it's his turn to share" - but he doesn't share anything? just gives her a hug and a thank you, which is nice, but not exactly sharing as a child understands it.  Regardless, still very nice and illustrative for the sometimes strained relationship between siblings or friends of slightly different ages.  

Tuesday Storytime: Sibling Relations

Another one that I have missed this year - I think this is my worst year to date for missing storytimes.  I took care to give my replacement a good fun set of reads.

Mission: New Baby
Susan Hood, illustrated by Mary Lundquist
ISBN: 9780385376723
Vignettes and "snapshots" of life with a baby sibling, with a military/special ops flair.

Our main character is a tousle-haired white boy and his family, but we get vignettes from other diverse "recruits" as they also assist with their new siblings.  Everything from bathtime to storytime is presented as a military or espionage exercise, with the conceit that the established "operative" (the new big brother/sister) has been tasked with training the new "recruit" (the baby sibling) by teaching them the ropes.  There's not much to it, but it's super cute.

Rodeo Red
Maripat Perkins, illustrated by Molly Idle
ISBN: 9781561458165
Previously reviewed here.

I still love this one, and it's the reason I went with this particular theme.  I'm happy to report that the storyteller and the audience loved it to pieces as well.

Peace, Baby!
Linda Ashman, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
ISBN: 9781452106137
Diverse characters, soft colors, and expressive poses and faces.

This one sits up with Llama Llama for the very clear, child-level message - choose kindness, choose to work together, choose to be gentle, choose to forgive.  This one isn't entirely about family and siblings, but the lesson certainly applies there, and several of the scenarios pictured could be of sibling sets.

New Arrivals: Picture Book: Rodeo Red, Maripat Perkins, Molly Idle

Rodeo Red
Maripat Perkins, illustrated by Molly Idle
ISBN: 9781561458165
Crisp Pixar-esque drawings and scenes dramatize sibling rivalry into an Old West showdown.

Molly Idle is amazing.  New picture books show up just about every week here at the library, and I try to check through them all.  Most of them I flip through and then shelve - they don't speak to me personally, so there's no need to review something that left me cold.  On the other hand, sometimes we get books like Rodeo Red through the gate, and I literally clapped my hands with joy when I saw it.  The best part is that while the cover illustration and a quick flip drew me inexorably inwards, the story by the masterful Maripat Perkins kept me glued to the narrative, which is rare for a picture book.  Excellent pairing, and I hope it continues!

You guys, this book is so goshdurned cute.  Our red-headed cowgirl and her partner, the (stuffed) hound-dog Rusty, are none too pleased when a new resident takes over the ranch (er, nursery) next door.  The new neighbor is rude, crude, and awfully grabby - and the last straw is when he grabs Rusty!  When the law (aka the parental units) cravenly takes the side of the newcomer?  It's just all too much to bear.  Our heroine is nearly overcome with despair until a new fancy posh animal arrives on the scene, and Red arranges for a prisoner swap to bring Rusty safely home.

So fricking cute.  Words fail.  Go check it out and feel your heart swelling with the adorableness.  

Storytime Potential: Maple, by Lori Nichols

This book came in through delivery, and the cover was so cute, I just had to flip through it.  I'm glad I did, because it's very cute naturey, seasonal, big-sistery book that is sweet and short and perfect to slot into a lot of different themed storytimes.

Maple
Lori Nichols
ISBN: 9780399160851
An almost Precious Moments art-style with calm colors and minimalist backgrounds.

Maple is a sweet girl, and fairly happy with life, and especially happy with her tree - the Maple that was planted when she was born.  It's her partner, her friend.  She lends it her coat in winter, and plays in the shade in summer.  She does wish she had a more active friend, and maple (the tree) does seem a bit lonely out there in the yard by herself.  So Maple is surprised and delighted when a new tree starts sprouting next to maple, and Maple's mom gets pregnant, then delivers a baby sister!  Maple and her new sister now both like to rest in maple's shade, waiting for W/willow to grow up enough to play.

Adorable, sweet, no conflict.  Can't wait to use it.   Would work well with On Meadowview Street, or with Kevin Henke's Chrysanthemum.

New Arrivals: Picture Book: Three Bears in a Boat, David Soman

Three Bears in a Boat

David Soman (Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy)

ISBN: 9780803739932

Nautical and expressive bear cubs in soft-wash environments, navigating tricky emotions.

Our bear protagonists are siblings, and so you know from the start that there are certain kinds of trouble that it takes good friends or blood-relatives to get into.  After an accident, the trio heads out to repair the damage (and to prevent them from having to fess up).  The sailing isn't always smooth, and the relationship is strained by blame for the accident, but shared peril and misery are always great to put things in perspective.  Our intrepid wanderers come back, somewhat the worse for wear, and find what they were looking for was always right at home (which, in picture book land, is about as good of a moral as you can get).  Special props for the anxious and clingy mother bear at the end, who adults will realize has been much more exercised over the missing cubs than over the broken trinket.

Unsurprisingly from the deft creator of Ladybug Girl, these siblings have good hearts and good intentions, but we see in this story that emotions and circumstances can bring out the worst in even the best of us.  Showing how they rely on each other, forgive each other, and take responsibility (shared) for the inciting problem is a great visual (and so very visual - check out those postures and faces and emotional colorings) to give to little kids who are still figuring out all this complicated emotional and relationship stuff, with brains that aren't even done growing yet.  Sometimes I think that picture books like these that show empathy and emotional connections might even do a lot of grown-ups good.

  

Picture Book Haul: Shaun Tan's Rules of Summer

Oh boy.. not really sure about this one.


Rules of Summer
Shaun Tan
ISBN: 9780545639125

In a lot of ways, I think of Shaun Tan as the slightly more graphically-inclined psychological twin of Neil Gaiman.  They both write these amazing, off-kilter stories that manage to be simultaneously totally ominous and cautiously optimistic, and with an edge of mystery and danger.  I think that like Coraline, many adults are going to read this (look at this) and say "Oh My GOD, the CHILDREN WILL FREAK OUT!" because we as adults freak out, while the children reading it just shrug and say "Yep, life is crazy weird and unfair, and basically sucks a whole lot, but it is what it is."

So, what exactly is this?

Not sure.  It will probably be very different for everyone, depending on how optimistic or pessimistic they are, whether they were an older or younger sibling, whether their siblings got along with them, deferred to them, or beat the shit out of them, whether they are confident or worried about being caught faking adulthood, whether they had (and remember) the utterly insane and totally horrific imaginary lives of children...

The outline - and a stark and grim outline it is - is in two parts.  The artwork shows an older boy and a younger boy (the jacket flap identifies them as brothers, but the story (such as it is) doesn't make that obvious or necessary) engaging in various activities in a world of monstrous beings, where the older boy is confident and successful, and the younger is screwing up or being screwed over.  The narration simply recites the Rules of Summer, which infers that the younger boy is violating said rules, thus explaining why his life is sucking so much.

A deeper look at the artwork and the mood of the progressing story shows a much grimmer story, where the two boys seem to live in a world where they are outliers and strangers, and where a hostile force (the black bird) is monitoring them closely every moment of their lives, and eventually breaking them apart.


Now for the interpretations:

On a fairly straightforward approach, it tells the story of a younger boy who is constantly trying to be loved and accepted and respected by his older brother.  It tells clearly how powerful that desire can be, and brutally reveals how the people you love can (will?) betray and wound you deeply, and poses the question (to the readers at least - one of the final Rules is "Never ask for a reason" and an even later is "Never wait for an apology") of whether trust and love are enough of a compensation for that inevitable betrayal that appears as the coming of winter.

On a different slightly slanted approach, it tells the story of two young people trying desperately to survive and find enjoyment in a world that seems to be arbitrary and punitive and designed for beings and understandings that are manifestly NOT theirs.  In this approach, the older boy is more of a guide, perhaps passing on these rules because of past negative experiences of his own.  Here the reader wonders about things like parents and society and the history of this world.

In an even different angle, it shows how hard it is to be an older sibling, tasked with caring for (or even raising) a younger one.  The older one tries hard to include the younger, and to instruct him in what he needs to learn to get along in society, but the younger continually screws up and causes trouble that the elder then has to resolve or otherwise mitigate.  In this reading, the black bird becomes a visual representation of frustration and burnout, with the elder brother finally falling prey to temptation to offload his responsibilities for a much shinier alternative, and then trying to atone for his temporary lapse.

Whatever interpretation you bring, it's a gritty, dark story of responsibility and love and the connections between people and their world, where life can flip from being cruel and arbitrary to being wondrous and fulfilling - sometimes even in the same exact moment.