Evan Early

by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn, Ned Gannon (Illustrator)

When Natalie's little brother Evan Earl is born prematurely, he's earns the nickname Evan Earl-y. No one can say for sure when Evan will come home from the hospital. To help her with this uncertainty, Natalie's father gives her a calendar to keep track of the days --each day that Natalie colors in is one day closer to the day her new brother can come home. When Natalie visits Evan at the hospital, she is curious about the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU); she talks to the nurses and her Mom explains how the tubes and machines are helping Evan to breathe and eat. As the days go by and become “rainbow weeks” on Natalie's coloring calendar, she gets lonely and a little scared; her parents spend most of their time with Evan in the NICU. She tries to be patient, but finally gets upset by their neglect. Her Mom reassures her that they haven't forgotten about her. Over time, Natalie learns that, although her brother might always need special help and lots of attention, she can teach Evan their family traditions, even while he's in the hospital. This is a sympathetic and supportive story for other young siblings (ages 4 to 8) of preemies. The full-color illustrations are warm and bright, using Natalie's coloring calendar as a recurring visual theme throughout the story. The pictures portray just enough suggestion of the NICU medical setting to satisfy young reader's curiosity.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2006

About the author

Reader. Writer. Teacher-librarian.
Also writes under the name W.H. Beck.