Greenwillow Books; 1995; Ages 4-8

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Seven-year-olds appreciate twisted humor, so my son, Cameron, loved this one. Written by Kevin Henkes (the author of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse), Julius, the Baby of the World tells of Lilly’s reaction to her new little brother. While her parents oooh and ahhh over his every burp, Lilly finds him disgusting. She purposefully undermines him. When mom and dad sing the alphabet song to him, Lilly drills him in a jumbled version.

My kids loved the honesty of this book, which appeals to kids from age three up to 10 or so. For parents, it’s a funny reminder that we can’t just tell our kids to love the new addition. Their annoyance and dislike are normal.

Cameron enjoys the humor, but also gets the message behind it: “Sometimes your mom has to pay attention to somebody else when you really want her. My little brother is annoying, and in my mind I think bad things, just like Lilly does. But in my heart I think: He is my brother. It’s kind of fun having him here, and there’s things we can do together.”

–by Carrie, Claire, Cameron, and Christopher Krueger, who live in the Seattle area