So with babies on the brain, I thought I'd share a few more books to prepare children for a new baby. Check out my first list here.
Usborne First Experiences: The New Baby by Anne CivardiThe Usborne first experience books are great. The baby one talks about the Bunn family planning for their new addition, getting the room ready, going to the hospital, the older children being cared for by grandparents, and bringing the baby home. It shows an illustration of the mother in the hospital, and also an illustration of breastfeeding. A neat thing about this series of books is that you can read a short version or a long version. Basic text is at the top of each page, and you can just read that, or for more elaboration of the story, you can also read the text at the bottom of the page. I'm not sure how well I've explained that, but click here to see an example from the "Going on a Plane" book.
Franklin's Baby Sister by Paulette BourgeoisI'm not a huge fan of the Franklin books, but I really like this one. Franklin is so excited for the new baby to come that he can't wait for spring to arrive, and it seems like he has to wait a really long time. When his baby sister is born, he helps to name her, and tells her how happy he is to finally meet her. It deals with pre-baby waiting, as the story ends in the hospital.
The Berenstain Bears' New Baby by Stan and Jan BerenstainA classic! Not very educational, but it's a cute story that most of us remember from our childhood. Small Bear grows out of his little bed just in time for a new baby to arrive - that very day, in fact! Personally, I think Mama & Papa waited a bit too long to tell Small Bear the news!!
The Berenstain Bears and Baby Makes Five by Stan and Jan BerenstainThis one is much better. It deals with Sister Bear's jealousy when her new baby sister Honey is born. She feels like Honey gets all of the attention, but she eventually learns that babies need lots of care, just like she did when she was a baby. My daughter finds it hilarious when Sister Bear calls honey a "stink bug" because of how many diapers she goes through!
The New Baby by Mercer MayerShort, sweet and simple. Little Critter is excited to play games and read books with his baby sister, and learns that although he can't do those things with the baby yet, there are a lot of things they can do together.
7 comments:
These sound like really good choices, and I totally agree about the first Berenstain Bears book. I cannot get over how Mama Bear just delivers a cub, presumably dresses and bathes her, changes into a new blue dress herself, and relocates a solid wood crib on her own, all the while her husband is out in his woodshop. This sort of bothered me when I was a kid as well, but now it's just irritating!
Great idea for a list of books, btw :)
Wow! I never thought/realized how many "new baby" books were out there. This is great...except I won't be needing them! But good to know for telling a friend that does. :-)
What great recommendations. We read the Berenstain Bears book when we were expecting our daughter. My son did not want to read books about babies, though. He was so great about the new baby. It was truly amazing. I hope everything goes as smoothly for you, too.
This is such a great resource! We love Mercer Mayer. I'll have to look for that one when the time comes.
Love Berenstain Bears and Little Critter... I'll have to look for some of these books for my kids! Thanks for sharing your favorite books! I love to add all the great books from FMBF to my library list!
I totally understand where you are coming from. I feel like this one may be a little bit early too... and I don't feel at all ready like I did with my first.
Yay! A baby is on the way! Oh how I love round tummies.
Anyway, I didn't discover Mercer Mayer until we were given some of his books. I like the simple dialogue and humor in every illustr.
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