Shhh! by Valeri Gorbachev (Philomel, September 2011) is perfect for a soon-to-be big brother. A big brother informs us that when his baby brother is asleep, he is quiet. Beyond walking on his tip-toes, he tells the clown to stop laughing, the tigers to not growl so loud, the train to stop making loud noises, and the pirates to stop their cannons. But that’s not all, for when baby brother wakes up, the boy is able to play noisily again: laughing with the clown, making the train noises, and otherwise jumping around the room.
I love how Valeri Gorbachev in the first pages shows the boy talking to a real clown, tiger, pirates, and so forth. Once the baby brother is awake, the boy is shown with his toys, and the younger child is laughing on his blanket. Over everything, I loved how the boy told his story with no bitterness or jealousy: he’s telling us how things are in his house, and that helps my son (age 4) get ready for how things will be around our house too!
