My second graders loved this addition to our author study. Beautiful illustrations and a touching story. The students could relate to Lilly's jealousy. It has a sweet ending. ( )

Cute story about a mouse family, with older sister (Lilly) and her little baby brother (Julius) who everyone dotes on. Lilly is of course jealous and tries to do a few quite mean things to her little brother, but her parents seem oblivious. I would recommend it for young children who are experiencing a new family member, maybe... but only if you can be sure to get to the end where she redeems herself. ( )

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Julius is Lilly's new baby brother. She hates him. He takes attention away from her, he's loud, she has to share with him. She terrorizes him and asks when he'll be leaving. That is until her cousin insults him. Then she defends him and after that she loves him.
I love this book. I think it's a realistic portrayal of how an older sibling feels when a new baby comes home. It's funny and I think could be helpful for kids who are working through similar feelings. The ending might be a bit unrealistic, but it's sweet. ( )

Lily is not happy when her baby brother Julius is born. She says she doesn't like him and never will. Her parents try to convince her to accept him but she won't. This goes on until one day at a party a cousin makes fun of baby Julius. When this happens, Lily finally shows her true feelings toward her little brother. A major theme is this book is family. Even when Lily is not happy with Julius her parents don't get angry with her. They try to help her with her outlook on having a baby in the house and remain positive even though they are concerned. Also, Lily defends Julius when a cousin insults him even though she says she will never like him. Henkes does a great job of showing readers how families help and defend each other. ( )