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Big Brother, Little Brother

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Bright photos enhance this charming tale of sibling love as two brothers go about their day together playing games, wrestling, sharing a laugh, and more. By the author of Big Sister, Little Sister.

40 pages, Hardcover

Published May 24, 2004

2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read

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Marci Curtis

5 books1 follower

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5 stars
25 (18%)
4 stars
45 (33%)
3 stars
46 (34%)
2 stars
17 (12%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
51 reviews
March 5, 2014
I gave this book 5 stars because it's funny. My favorite part of book is when they said worms taste like chicken. --Daniel

I gave this book 4 stars because, well, the underwear part was kind of weird. My favorite part of the book is also when they said worms taste like chicken. --Matthew

Format: Hardcover, Pleasant Hill Library
431 reviews9 followers
June 15, 2021
This is a rhyming book for young children about the special relationship between brothers. This book would be good for a child in a family expecting a new brother.
Profile Image for Stephen Escalera.
66 reviews9 followers
December 21, 2010
"Big brother, little brother, buddies true and strong. Life is truly twice as fun since he came along."

Big Brother, Little Brother is a fun-filled book for boys ages 3-8 of how brothers big and small relate to one another. With simply, rhyming schemes and slice-of-life pictures, the author does a great job detailing the great (and one or two not-so-great) things that brothers experience together. Five pairs of brothers, each from an ethnically diverse heritage, are the subjects of the photos, many of which are quite funny and tell a story all by themselves. There's a picture of a big brother about to kiss a pet bird, while the little brother grimaces, awaiting the inevitable "peck" that the bird might give back! Another shows a little boy helping his brother tie his shoe. Yet another shows a little brother grinning from ear to ear while big brother helps him show off his muscles. All throughout the book, the rhyming captions capture the essence of the moment, even adding to it by using fonts that emphasize the action such as the "oo"s in the word loop actually looking like two loops.

Parents may be a little concerned about the message or behaviors a few of the pictures teach little boys. The cover photo, for example, shows two brothers getting ready to bathe a frog with soap, something that the frog probably wouldn't enjoy since this would most likely kill him. The picture of big brother encouraging little brother to eat a worm, saying that they "taste just like chicken" is another that may cause some concern. A third shows two brothers sitting on a skateboard, tugging a dog's tail in order to get a pull. While it is true that these behaviors are not what we want little boys to learn, the fact is that this is indeed what little boys tend to do and the author/photographer captures this perfectly. Of far more importance to me are the many more pictures that show brothers helping one another ("Big brother's there for me when I start to cry..."), playing together with obvious hilarity ("Kiss my fish, make a wish, then I'll set him free"), and above all showing that brothers can be the best of friends.

Being a father of two adopted sons, one other inclusion that for me just adds to the book is that two of the brothers talk about being adopted themselves and how that "Though we're not blood brothers, we are brothers of the heart." This and many other pictures and rhymes has made this book a favorite for my boys to read.
25 reviews
March 3, 2015
I thought this book was really cute. It included kids doing many different activities and children of many different races, so it was very inclusive. I liked how the focus of each picture wasn't the only thing you could get out of it. For example, one of the pictures shows two boys running. The caption is about racing, and it doesn't even mention that the bigger brother is carrying the backback of the younger brother so that the race is more fair and even. It was little details like that that made me like the book, though it really made me miss my nephews (ages 2 and 5) and watching them interact.
108 reviews2 followers
April 18, 2012
Who this book would be for: PreK-2
Reflection:
This book is great when introducing rhyming words to children. Also, the main words for each page is illustrated in a different font or in a picture form. So even if the child/children do not yet know how to read they will be able to infer the words from the pictures above. The photographs are also very cute and humorous. I think small children would be able to relate prior experiences or predict which words would come next if prompted.
Profile Image for Phoebe.
131 reviews
March 5, 2014
Saw this one while going through the picture book section at the library and grabbed it with hope that it would have good examples of the special relationship that big brothers can have with their little brothers. Very cute rhyming and fun to read aloud. Cute photos. D&M liked it a lot. I think I saw J&G taking a peek at it after we brought it home the other day too.

Format: Hardcover, Pleasant Hill Library
Profile Image for Joanie.
100 reviews
November 15, 2011
Excellent book to use in a lesson about adjectives; preferable during a guided reading group. The book also contains great conversational pictures that are diverse and realistic. Another way I would use this book is for a compare and contrast lesson of what the big brother does in comparison to the little brother.
58 reviews
November 13, 2012
I chose to read this book for our "Family Week" read-aloud. It is a fun book children can relate to and also learn about different sibling relationships. We talked about how some things may be similar to their families and some things way be different. Great intro book to talk about family diversities.
Kindergarten and up.
60 reviews1 follower
December 12, 2012
This is a fun book to read during a unit on families. It shows some fun things that brothers can do together. I would recommend this book for preschool through about fourth grade. There was only one page I didn't like and that was showing brothers having fun by pulling a dog's tail which isn't such a good idea. Overall, very cute!
Profile Image for Shelem Horton.
29 reviews
March 17, 2014
This book made my day. It's so adorable and memorable. The illustrations are real life photos of dire rent kids so I think that's really cool. The whole book it's just touching and perfect for kids, especially boys who are brothers. It teaches good lessons and just just feel very warm and happy after you finish reading it. I really want to read now Big Sister Little Sidter!
Profile Image for Christine.
98 reviews71 followers
May 20, 2014
Great sibling book! My little one 'reads' and asks for this story to read to him a lot. If you flip the book over and upside down, there is a book called 'Big Sisters, Little Sisters'. But because my 2.5 year old relates to the Big Brother, Little Brother side, he usually only asks for that to be read to him.
22 reviews10 followers
March 5, 2015
As a mother of boys, I couldn't help but love this book. Boys bond in the strangest of ways, like eating worms! The pictures were so true to life. It is true that the greatest gift a mother can give to her child is a brother or a sister. This book highlighted the joy that comes through sibling relationships...especially those of crazy little boys.
Profile Image for Amanda.
2,480 reviews10 followers
August 5, 2009
This was another get-ready-for-baby book in my mind. It made me kind of want another boy, although I'm sure there are more cases of the "getting little brother to eat worms" as opposed to "showing little brother how to tie shoelaces" in real life.
Profile Image for Drew Paige.
110 reviews
April 24, 2011
Great multicultural way of showing how brothers can get along no matter the age or race difference. I have two brothers myself and this story really related to me that brothers stick up for each other and can also be your friend.
96 reviews1 follower
November 5, 2012
Word/pic match. love how the word squished is kind of squished, and fight has the kabamm looking graphics and bubbles has bubbles around it and its in color. cute way to show siblings doing fun things.
39 reviews
July 12, 2010
I liked the lesson of brothers this book portrayed, and I liked the photos in the book. (easy reader)
Profile Image for Michaela.
100 reviews
October 16, 2011
This book was a cute description of how brother act. The little brother did everything the older brother did. The pictures depicted real life.. Could be used when teaching about family.
Profile Image for Noel Echols.
100 reviews3 followers
Read
March 14, 2012
different brother relationships
real pictures of children/people used

can be used to help describe family structures and teach diversity
Profile Image for Judy.
249 reviews
February 10, 2014
my boys enjoy getting this read to them and they talk about how they do some of the things like the brothers in the book
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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