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Books to help toddlers prepare for new siblings

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With baby #3 on the way and a very interested three-year-old in the house, we’ve been reading a lot of “baby on the way” picture books. Here are some of our favorites:

It seems like there are many, many more books about biological than adopted babies. I love the impatience and love of big brother Arun in Bringing Asha Home, written by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Jamel Akib, as he waits for his adopted sister to arrive from India. This book does a wonderful job of portraying the bond and love that exists between adopted siblings and their parents just as it does between biological ones – even before the child arrives.

Baby on the Way, written by Martha Sears, William Sears, and Christie Watts Kelly and illustrated by Renee Andriani, feels like a “What to Expect when Mama’s Expecting” book for toddlers. I don’t read the book word-for-word, and my daughter isn’t old/curious enough to care about the “answers for the very curious” sections, but I do think this book has helped Emma gain a better understanding of what pregnancy is, and this is a book that she definitely enjoys reading and discussing.

Newborn, written by Kathy Henderson and illustrated by Caroline Binch, is a book that I love for its illustrations. The words come across as a bit clunky and somewhat abstract for children, but the pictures are exquisite – expressive, warm, and loving.

Are there any other “baby on the way” type books that you recommend?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

8 thoughts on “Books to help toddlers prepare for new siblings”

  1. Congratulations! I’m enjoying all of the suggestions, as we’re expecting #3 as well!This won’t be for everyone, but my personal favourite is “Our Water Baby” by Amy MacLean and Jan Nesbitt. Perfect for us with planned home water births, and beautifully illustrated.

  2. Congratulations! What a wonderful (and busy) time this must be for your family. We read several books to the older girls to prepare for each subsequent child. One of our favorites is The New Baby in the First Experiences series by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright. https://www.amazon.com/Usborne-First-Experiences-New-Baby/dp/0794510035/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235881170&sr=8-3There is a whole volume of different first experiences topics in this combined volume which the kids love, although you can buy individual titles too. It's called "The Usborne Book of First Experiences"https://www.amazon.com/First-Experiences-Usborne/dp/0746052960/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235881906&sr=1-2Great illustrations (art, not photos) and there is a little duck hidden on every double page so the kids get to search for it!The Usborne books are really good in general. We really like them.

  3. We read The Birds, The Bees, and The Berenstein Bears to our girls when we were expecting last. Not sure what we’ll do this time… :)

  4. We loved both the Dr. Sears ones, but we did the same and only read “our version” of it. We also loved “I’m a Big Brother” by Ronne Randall – because it talks about not being able to play with the baby right away in the same way you would play with a friend your own age. We also liked “My New Baby” illustrated by Annie Kubler because there were no words, and we could make up different stories each time we read it.

  5. What a great topic! Emily was so excited to be a big sister, and she did a fabulous job adjusting to having to share the attention of mom and dad, but she was not prepared to share the grandparents!! Great books you’ve listed here…Valerie

  6. “I’m a Big Brother” and “I’m a Big Sister” by Joanna Cole and Maxie Chambliss are cute. We got the big brother one for my son when we were expecting.

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