What do you think?
Rate this book
Hi New Baby!
"In this reassuring, emotionally on-target book . . . a father recalls for his preschooler the many feelings she experienced when her new baby brother arrived and her world changed forever." - PARENTING
How does it feel to have a brand-new baby in the family - especially if you are still very young yourself? With enormous warmth and empathy, the acclaimed and award-winning team of Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley, author and illustrator of IT'S SO AMAZING! and IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, tell the universal story of a young child who, suddenly, is no longer the baby.
This new paperback edition of HI NEW BABY! includes an illustrated bookplate that lets older siblings help fill in the details of a special baby’s birth.
How does it feel to have a brand-new baby in the family - especially if you are still very young yourself? With enormous warmth and empathy, the acclaimed and award-winning team of Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley, author and illustrator of IT'S SO AMAZING! and IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, tell the universal story of a young child who, suddenly, is no longer the baby.
This new paperback edition of HI NEW BABY! includes an illustrated bookplate that lets older siblings help fill in the details of a special baby’s birth.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Robie H. Harris
61 books94 followersRobie H. Harris has written many award-winning books for children of all ages, including the definitive Family Library about sexuality: IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL, IT'S SO AMAZING!, and IT'S NOT THE STORK! She lives in Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 30, 2012
Hi New Baby! is a heartwarming story in which a father tells the stories of his young daughter's doubts about her new baby brother. His daughter is unsettled with the fact that she now has to share her parents' attention with another child! Throughout the story she constantly competes with her new sibling for her parents' affection. For example, when the new baby cried when he was hungry, she suddenly exclaims "I'm hungry too!" Dad works his hardest to make her feel special and love the baby, and by the end of the story she realizes that it might be fun to be a big sister after all. This story was even sweeter to me because the Robie Harris wrote it about her own experience with her children. The mixed feelings and fear that the daughter has in this story are normal for new older siblings. I remember feeling like my mom would not love me as much when my brother was born. I would use this story in lower grades to help students prepare for changes in their home life.
June 16, 2010
Harris, H. Robie. Hi New Baby.Walker Books Ltd, 2001. Print
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Hi New Baby, by Robie H. Harris, is about a little girl and the arrival of her new baby brother. The girl is presented with the actions that she portrayed when welcoming her brother into the world, as being told by her parents. She eventually is accepting and nourishing to her brother. This story is well represented with vivid illustrations that help entice the reader to keep reading and comprehend what taking place. The illustrations are presented with warm colors of yellows, oranges, blues, and browns that help the reader visualize the events. This book presents the reader with a real life event that children endure in their life. This book fits into the Realistic Fiction because it presents the reader with an event that occurs in the world, depicting humans and their trials. The theme of this story is the importance of family and how one needs to accept and not feel threatened by new additions to the family. This story is ideal for elementary school children because it presents them with the issue that they may endure in their future. This story gives them a sense of comfort and reassurance that new siblings are a wonderful thing. Children can relate to this book and learn for the characters experiences.
Genre: Children’s Picture Book
Hi New Baby, by Robie H. Harris, is about a little girl and the arrival of her new baby brother. The girl is presented with the actions that she portrayed when welcoming her brother into the world, as being told by her parents. She eventually is accepting and nourishing to her brother. This story is well represented with vivid illustrations that help entice the reader to keep reading and comprehend what taking place. The illustrations are presented with warm colors of yellows, oranges, blues, and browns that help the reader visualize the events. This book presents the reader with a real life event that children endure in their life. This book fits into the Realistic Fiction because it presents the reader with an event that occurs in the world, depicting humans and their trials. The theme of this story is the importance of family and how one needs to accept and not feel threatened by new additions to the family. This story is ideal for elementary school children because it presents them with the issue that they may endure in their future. This story gives them a sense of comfort and reassurance that new siblings are a wonderful thing. Children can relate to this book and learn for the characters experiences.
August 24, 2019
I love the illustrations in this--the squishy newborn looks absolutely perfect. The girl is kind of bratty, which bums me out, but I realize this is how some kids genuinely react. She does come around to her little brother by the end! :)
December 22, 2017
Big sister is not happy about the noisy new baby in the house.
September 23, 2023
This large, gorgeously illustrated picture book realistically tells the story of a young child being introduced to her new baby brother. She is very curious at first, but soon sees the baby doesn't do much except sleep, cry, eat, spit up, and mess in diapers. Even so, she is a little jealous of the new baby until she realizes she has an important role as the big sister. The story is told by the father relating his memories of her getting to know her baby brother.
February 11, 2017
The big sister in this story doesn't like it when the new baby comes home. I think this book could be helpful if read to an older sibling who is experiencing the same feelings of jealousy, but we chose not to read it to our daughter before our new baby was born because we don't want to set up the expectation of resentfulness and jealousy.
May 30, 2015
A rare book that captures the emotional reactions of a child with fantastic detail and realism. I love how the wise parent characters allow the big sister plenty of space to learn for herself, reacting with positive statements and without laughter or personal comments. I find the whole work deeply respectful to children.
I'm sure most child readers will recognise the conflict in the story. I hope child readers are engaged by the surprises and the depth of character. In any case, it's a comprehension goldmine with plenty of discussion questions.
What is she feeling?
Why does she say that?
What would she like to say?
What should she feel and say?
What might you tell the girl if you wanted to help her?
Do the parents say anything wrong?
How do the parents show their love for the big sister?
I'm sure most child readers will recognise the conflict in the story. I hope child readers are engaged by the surprises and the depth of character. In any case, it's a comprehension goldmine with plenty of discussion questions.
What is she feeling?
Why does she say that?
What would she like to say?
What should she feel and say?
What might you tell the girl if you wanted to help her?
Do the parents say anything wrong?
How do the parents show their love for the big sister?
December 13, 2012
I thought this was a really cute book that students could read if they were having a new sibling. With great pictures and story, it does a great job of describing this experience in a family. This would be great for a read aloud but I would recommend it for first to third graders.
Read
April 17, 2008E Har
January 11, 2009
one of the most realistic older sibling/new baby books reviewed. from the details in the illustrations to the feelings of the older sister, this feels real.
May 14, 2009
Love their Happy Birth Day! the best. Looking forward to seeing how Lola reacts to this book after the baby comes.
November 7, 2009
A cute book about a family bringing home for a baby brother. The ending was really sweet.
November 14, 2021
Loved the illustrations.
April 29, 2017
#Sibling #new arrival is always hard for kids. The book characterizes the #reaction of the #kids and reassures about the #love of the #family.
Read
November 5, 2017“Hi New Baby” by Robie H. Harris; published by Candlewick Press; Cambridge, MA; copyright 2000
1. Awards the book has received: None
2. Appropriate Age levels: Preschool- 1st grade
3. Summary: This book is about the moment in a little girl’s life where she is adjusting to having a baby sibling in the family. She is not happy with her new brother at first, complaining that the baby is loud and smelly. She does not like all the attention being given to the baby. As time goes on, though, the little girl warms up to the baby and is happy he is part of the family.
4. Review: Having to accept a new sibling into the family is something many children have to go through during their young lives. I believe this is a great book to read to kids during that time as they might have a hard time dealing with the shift of attention being placed on the baby instead of them. This book helps them understand that this is normal, but they will come to love their new sibling, like the little girl’s character. It will help children cope with the jealousy they might feel.
5. Uses in the classroom:
• Have children share how they felt when their younger siblings were born
• Have children draw pictures for their younger/ older siblings,
• Look at the images of the little girl and have students tell how she was feeling in those instances
1. Awards the book has received: None
2. Appropriate Age levels: Preschool- 1st grade
3. Summary: This book is about the moment in a little girl’s life where she is adjusting to having a baby sibling in the family. She is not happy with her new brother at first, complaining that the baby is loud and smelly. She does not like all the attention being given to the baby. As time goes on, though, the little girl warms up to the baby and is happy he is part of the family.
4. Review: Having to accept a new sibling into the family is something many children have to go through during their young lives. I believe this is a great book to read to kids during that time as they might have a hard time dealing with the shift of attention being placed on the baby instead of them. This book helps them understand that this is normal, but they will come to love their new sibling, like the little girl’s character. It will help children cope with the jealousy they might feel.
5. Uses in the classroom:
• Have children share how they felt when their younger siblings were born
• Have children draw pictures for their younger/ older siblings,
• Look at the images of the little girl and have students tell how she was feeling in those instances
Read
April 12, 2019 This is a very relocatable book for young girls that may have new younger siblings on the way or just born. It would help to make them feel that what they feel is normal. It is written from the perspective of the father and introduces feeling that the young child had about the new baby.
I would not use this book outside of a personal use from parents to a child, such as in the classroom, because it would lack connection to many other students. It also has a page showing a baby boy getting a diaper change with the correct male anatomy. This may not be a comfortable subject to introduce to young children.
I would not use this book outside of a personal use from parents to a child, such as in the classroom, because it would lack connection to many other students. It also has a page showing a baby boy getting a diaper change with the correct male anatomy. This may not be a comfortable subject to introduce to young children.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews