One Special Day by Lola Schaefer

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One Special Day by Lola Schaefer and illustrated by Jessica Meserve (Disney Hyperion, 2012) is full of metaphors to show just what Spencer is: strong as a bear, tall as a giraffe, loud as an elephant. The animals are not named but illustrated in bright and colorful paintings as Spencer plays outside and enjoys his freedom. But one special day, Spencer is something he has never been before, and all the animals retreat as he watches his parents return home with a new baby. Spencer is a now a brother!

One Special Day is an understated book in terms of text, but the large pages, bright paintings, and sweet emphasis on all that big brother can do makes it a nice addition to an older sibling’s “expecting a baby” reading shelf complete. It’s also a great book for introducing young children to the concept of similes. This book is my favorite of the batch of recent baby books I’ve found at the library.


This week’s Cybils’ focus is on babies! Since my baby is quickly getting old (she’ll be ten months old next week), I’m mourning the loss of a not-yet-crawling baby, but looking forward to coming months of a baby who is more interested in playing and reading with me! She obviously already loves books by the way she devours them (literally trying to eat them, which is of course perfectly age appropriate!).

There are many more new sibling and baby books in the Cybils stack, and it is unfortunate that I will not have time to discuss all of them. My Cybils time is coming to an end, as I’ve just spent a marathon two and a half months reading through 234 out of the 237 on the fiction picture book list. I’ll keep reviewing as much as I can in the coming months, but know that there are far more books on the list than I will ever get to!

Reviewed on December 20, 2012

About the author 

Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid is a homeschooling, stay-at-home mother seeking to make the journey of life-long learning fun by reading lots of good books. Rebecca Reads provides reviews of children's literature she has enjoyed with her children; nonfiction that enhances understanding of educational philosophies, history and more; and classical literature that Rebecca enjoys reading.

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