Love The Baby

by Steven L. Layne, Ard Hoyt (Illustrator)

"Layne's take on the familiar theme is sweet and direct enough even for young children to graspi1/2the picturesi1/2pair nicely with the straightforward text, giving it a zesty layer of humor."--Booklist

Older siblings are notorious for reluctantly welcoming home a new bundle of joy, and many parents know the difficulty of teaching the firstborn to "love the baby." In this new picture book by the award-winning team of Steven Layne and Ard Hoyt, the refrain of "looooove the baby" is repeated often enough for it to eventually come true for the once insecure and spiteful older brother.

The transition occurs when Baby cries and cries one night-and no one comes to help. Awakened by the cries, the older brother comes to Baby's rescue. He makes Baby giggle and sing and builds a giant tower of blocks. He reads Baby his favorite book. Once Baby is finally asleep, the big brother notices with pride that he really does love the baby after all!

Parents and teachers alike will appreciate how this book lightly and humorously approaches such a weighty subject for children awaiting a new sibling. The colorful illustrations of bunnies allow kids of all backgrounds and ages to relate and recognize themselves in the story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2007

About the author

Award-winning author and educator Steven L. Layne is the director of the Master of Education in Literacy program at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, where he is also a professor of literacy education. He is a respected literacy consultant, motivational keynote speaker, and featured author at conferences and literary events worldwide. He lives with his wife and children in Saint Charles, Illinois.

Reviews

[Katt Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of cute kid's book about the jealousy which comes when a new baby comes home. The older child (here a bunny) pretends to love the baby when everyone seems determined to force him to love his new sibling. Eventually he comes to love her without any help at all.

I loved the illustrations to this story. They really do capture the emotion of what a child goes through. As for the story itself, even I got annoyed at how often someone told this poor kid to help them love the baby. It's no wonder he got so resentful!

Not the greatest book on this topic, but not the worst either. If you're going through this problem with your kid and run across this book, it might be worth picking up just to help open up a very real discussion about what your child is feeling. I would't go out of my way to look for it though.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rabbitt gets a new baby brother that all the grown ups in his world try to tell him to love but he just can't. Will his feelings ever change? Preschool and up

[Stephanie Cluster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be biased after meeting the author and having him read his own book, but I fell in love with this book right away. Not only is it funny, but it also has a heart-warming theme of accepting a new family member. This bunny does not want to love the baby, but we can see how quickly that changes by the end of the story, when we all love the baby too!

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a special one to read with our daughter when her brother was born. I like that sibling jealousy is normalized and not punished, but eventually the bunny comes around to the idea of the new baby.

[Sarah Fitzsimmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of a family of bunnies. The bunny parents bring home their second child from the hospital. The brother bunny is not very happy because everything his parents used to do with him they now do with his new sibling. The bunny brother is jealous and this is a story of how he deals with his jealousy.
I love this book because of how the author displays the importance of family. It demonstrates selfless love and shows us that everything truly isn't all about us.
I would use this book in my classroom to show my students how important family is and that even though we can get jealous sometimes, our love for one another should trump everything.

[Kirsten Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming illustrations, hilarious and winning narrative voice, and themes a child (or anyone who has been a child) can relate to--you can't go wrong with Love the Baby if you're looking for a good picture book.

[oplkids · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bunny with a new baby in the house slowly learns to love the baby. This would be a good story to read to a new older sibling.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book for coping with a new sibling.

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will definitely be a book that older siblings can relate to. I know I could as I thought back to how I had to watch my little sister be pampered, and that was almost 45 years ago!

[kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heard Layne read his book at a literacy conference. Sweet and relatable for little ones welcoming a new sibling to the family.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good new baby story with the frustrations of an older sibling portrayed.

[Mrs. Gabrielle Zastrow's · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was NOT what we thought it would be. We thought it was going to be a loveydubby kiddie book, but it was funny because the kid actually hated the baby.... until the predictable ending!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lively picture book about a big brother's reaction to not being an only child. Delightful text and illustrations. Love those big bunny eyes!