As you may have guessed from the title of this post, we’re adding a new geek to the family! The past couple of months have been busy with change, but they’re exciting changes and we’re all excited for our clan to grow by one in a few months.

One of the biggest parts of preparing for a baby this time around is that we have a toddler, too. I’m an oldest child, and even though I was really young at the time, I still remember a lot of the big and sometimes confusing emotions that I felt when my younger sister was born.

With this in mind, we decided that one way to prepare Geekling for the paradigm shift he’s going to experience in a few months was to (of course) get him some new books. While I was looking online for some good big brother books, I discovered that there are a lot of new baby books out there. Some I remember from when I was a kid, but I’ve found some new ones that are really delightful, and that I was super excited to introduce to Geekling. We’ve made a list of (a few) of our favorite ones below.

1. Who? A Celebration of Babies

Robbie H. Harris, Natasha Rosenberg

We’ve talked about this one before in a previous post, but I thought it was worth mentioning again here too. This is really more of a baby book to introduce babies to the concepts of loved ones like Mama, Dada, and other family members, including some pets that might be more common in lots of families. But as Geekling has gotten older, he’s continued to enjoy reading it with us, and now he loves it because he loves seeing the babies on each page. He’s at an age where he LOVES babies, so we’re encouraging that by reading lots and lots of books about babies, even if they don’t specifically talk about the big brother and new baby relationship. 

The text is simplistic—again, it’s more geared towards babies rather than toddlers—but Geekling doesn’t seem to mind, and in fact will often walk around pointing to favorite stuffed animals and saying things like “Who’s that? Baby Yoda, that’s who!” As we mentioned in our other post, the illustrations are wonderful and bright, and it’s a sweet little book that we have been enjoying as a family for years.

Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.

2. Global Babies

The Global Fund for Children

Global Babies features lots of bright photos of babies from all around the world. This one is also a book for babies, who love looking at faces and love looking at other babies. But again, Geekling is showing a lot of excitement about babies right now, so I’ll occasionally pull this one out again so we can look at all of the babies from around the world together and talk about how each one is special and loved. Geekling loves looking at the pictures and will sometimes pull the book off of the shelf to flip through by himself. It’s a solid addition to any book collection and can be a book your older child and new baby can enjoy together!

Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.

3. I’m a Big Brother

Joanna Cole

I’m a Big Brother and its companion, I’m a Big Sister, are specifically geared towards helping new big siblings understand what life with a baby will be like. The language is simple enough for toddlers to understand and shows what being a big brother is like. The new big brother in the story helps out with his new baby sibling, listens to his dad explain that sometimes babies cry to communicate, and starts to build a relationship of his own with the new baby. I also love that this book shows that the Mommy and Daddy still love their older child and that he will always be special to them, even though the family has a new baby. The note to parents at the very end is a welcome reminder that oldest children need a lot of help adjusting to the changes that a new baby brings!

Geekling really enjoys reading it with us, and has started talking about ways he can help when the baby comes “just like in I’m a Big Brother.” It’s been a good introduction to the changes that will be coming, and we hope it will help him be more prepared for when his little sibling arrives.

Find I’m a Big Brother on Amazon or Bookshop (big sister version is available here and here).

4. Waiting for Baby

Rachel Fuller

Waiting for Baby focuses on Mommy’s pregnancy in a simple, toddler-friendly way. It shows the older sibling helping prepare for the baby, going along with Mommy to appointments to see the baby in her tummy, and picking out toys the baby might like. The older sibling in this book is gender neutral, so it’s easy for your child to relate to them whether you have a boy or girl, and I really liked that this book focuses on the building anticipation and excitement of having a new baby in a way that includes the older sibling. 

The text is extremely simple, which is another reason I thought this was good for young toddlers. There isn’t much of a narrative and the pages just consist of thoughts and observations a young child might have on observing some of the things that come with preparing for a new baby, but they’re excellent for helping us start conversations with Geekling. We can point out that the big brother is picking out toys for the new baby, and that he is helping Daddy with dinner so Mommy can rest, and talk to Geekling about how he can do those things, too.

It’s also worth noting that Waiting for Baby is part of a series all about older siblings and new babies. The companion books, My New Baby and You and Me, focus on the first few weeks with a new baby and on the budding relationship between siblings, respectively. We took a look at those two, and while they had fun illustrations and showed a lot of the normal aspects of life with a new baby sibling, they often made it sound like the older sibling was complaining about the baby and like the baby was a bad thing. (For example, the older sibling is upset by the new baby’s crying and asks if his parents can make it stop, without the more balanced perspective that “babies cry to tell us something” I noted in I’m a Big Brother above). I think this was just a result of the simple language, but it came across in such a negative way that we didn’t feel comfortable reading it to Geekling. I recognize that other families might not see those pages the same way, though, so it really depends on how you feel about those books when you try them out!

Overall, though, Waiting for Baby was a good addition to our “Big Brother Books” collection. Geekling loved the illustrations, and because he has come with me to some of my prenatal appointments and gotten to see the baby on an ultrasound, he was really excited to see some of those same things happening in the book. We think this one will help build up the excitement for Geekling leading up to the new addition to the family.

Find Waiting for Baby on Amazon or Bookshop.

5. André: The Best Big Brother

Mikaela Wilson

In André: The Best Big Brother, André learns to be a helpful big brother to his new baby sibling, starts to build a relationship with the baby, and learns that even though he might have some big feelings about being a big brother, his parents still love him. As with many other new big sibling books, there is also a big sister version. 

I have mixed feelings about this one. After reading about it while searching online for big brother books, I decided to give it a chance, especially because it’s independently published (meaning the author published it herself) and I like to support indie authors when I can. I really like that it shows André learning to work through some of the big and sometimes difficult feelings of being a new big brother, and I like that he learns to help with the new baby and feels like a part of the family as they all adjust to their new roles. Of all the books in this list, this is the only one where I felt like some of the negative emotions of being a new big sibling (jealousy, feeling displaced) were addressed in a way that was constructive.

My misgivings about André come more from the fact that there is a lot of variety to the quality of indie (or self-published) books out there, and this one, unfortunately, feels a little amateurish for how expensive it was. I felt that even the paperback edition was too pricey for a book that clearly hasn’t been professionally edited, typeset, or designed, and the illustrations aren’t anything special (I thought the baby looked a little creepy, honestly). The story was also a little flat for me, missing much of the warmth that is present in many of the other books we read. While some of those books are also simple or don’t follow specific narratives, they were crafted that way, whereas André felt more didactic than well-crafted.

However, I’m still including André in this list because Geekling loves it. And, let’s face it, that’s really the goal I had in mind here: finding books he could enjoy and connect with the main character while learning about some of the changes that will happen when he’s a big brother. My own hangups about it are grown-up hangups, and while I don’t know if I would buy André for someone else, I do love that Geekling seems to really identify with André and likes to flip through the pages and look at the pictures on his own. 

If André sounds like a book you or your little one would enjoy, you can find it on Amazon or Bookshop.

6. The Littlest Viking

Alexandra Penfold, Isabel Roxas

Sven is the littlest Viking in his clan, but he is the loudest and the fiercest. He also tells the best stories, and all the other Vikings stop to listen when Sven begins to spin a tale. One day, however, a warrior princess arrives, and she is both littler and louder than Sven! None of the other Vikings seem to know how to calm the warrior princess’s tears, but when Sven tells her a story, he learns that not being the littlest Viking anymore might not be so bad after all.

The Littlest Viking, unlike the other books we’ve mentioned, is not a book about babies, and it might be a little long for younger toddlers. Geekling liked it when we read it to him, but he doesn’t request it the way he does the others. But I love it so, so very much, and maybe as Geekling gets older the longer narrative will appeal to him more. It’s a sweet little tale about the emerging bond between siblings. I love that by the end of the story, Sven and the warrior princess are best friends, and that’s the kind of relationship I hope Geekling will develop with his younger sibling. 

Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.

7. Lola Reads to Leo

Anna McQuinn

Last, but certainly not least, is Lola Reads to Leo. This one is currently our favorite of all the big sibling books we have read together. Lola loves books, and when her new baby brother Leo is born, she is so excited to read to him! Lola has a story to share with Leo for every situation. She also helps her Mommy and Daddy take care of things around the house. Even though Leo cries a lot, Lola is able to share her love of stories with him. And although Leo keeps everybody busy, they always have time to stop and read together as a family. (Can you see why we like this one so much?)

Lola Reads to Leo is such a cute story. The text is simple and uncomplicated, so it can be read to and understood by a younger toddler, but it’s not babyish, so it holds appeal for older toddlers and preschoolers, too. I love how bright and warm the illustrations are, and I love that it’s all about how a big sister shares something she loves—stories!—with her new baby brother.

Most of the books I looked for were brother-specific books, but when I saw Lola Reads to Leo, I knew Geekling would probably enjoy it because he had already told me that he wants to read to the new baby (even though he can’t read yet, lol). Luckily, I was right, and he’s been talking even more about reading to the baby “like Lola” since we got it. This would be a great older sibling book for any little bibliophile, and I’m really glad I found it. 

Find it on Amazon or Bookshop.

Did we miss any of your favorite big sibling books? What are some other ones we should try?