I am a Big Sister product reviews

When I saw I am a Big Sister in the box of books available for review I knew I had to have it as one of the children I have for home based childcare is very proud that she is a big sister, Her baby sister is nearly a year old now but the book is still very relevant. When I showed her the book she instantly wanted me to read it to her and even took it home for the night so her mum could read it to her too.

We have other Caroline Jayne Church books Ten Tiny Toes and Giggle so I knew the style of writing and illustrations would appeal to the young children. The children instantly recognised Ten Tiny Toes among pictures of some of the other books she has done and were very excited.

This is a board book designed more for toddlers but my 3 1/2 year olds enjoyed it too. It has a simple text of rhyming couplets. Each age covers something the big sister can do to help the baby. The story is written and illustrated in such a way that the baby could be a girl or a boy so the big sister can identify the baby as the same gender as their own younger sibling.

There were a couple of things that didn't fit for the big sister I was reading it with. Her baby is breastfed and in the story the baby has a bottle. The other big difference for her was the baby in the book had a disposable diaper, she sister has a cloth nappy. I know that the book is designed for a broad international market so a book can't cater to every individual family situation but these were Miss 3.5 noticed.

I would have loved to have given my own daughter a book like this to prepare her for the arrival of her little sister but I couldn't find any then. It is a great book for encouraging the big sister to help (and reminding the parents the things she can do to help) as well as reassuring the child she is still very much a part of the family.