Illustrations: oil painting. This book is about a crocodile named Caroline who is getting jealous of the attention her little brother is getting from their mom. One day when her mom left the older sister with her little brother, she took him to the baby store and asks the clerk if she can trade in the little brother for another animal baby. However, none of the baby animals that the clerk gives Caroline works out for her. They are either too much work, too messy, etc. She goes back to the store for the last time and asks for her little brother back and decides that he was perfect for her from the beginning. This book is fantasy because the animals are talking and doing human activities, but the storyline is realistic. A lot of the time, siblings don't know what to do with themselves when a new sibling is introduced into the picture because they end up taking a lot of their parent's time. Genre: fantasy, Age Appropriateness: primary. ( )

This book is about a crocodile named Caroline who gets a baby brother and is jealous of the attention he gets from their mother. She then tries to switch her brother out for a new sibling. This is a good fantasy fiction book because the animals can speak, they wear clothes, and there is a baby store which are all things that don't happen in the real world. PRIMARY or INTERMEDIATE ( )

New baby siblings are sometimes a drag. Perhaps some other sort of baby might do better?

Sibling hate is a familiar picture book trope, but really, watching a kid test-driving a whole slew of different kinds of (animal) babies is a hoot. Andrew Joyner's art really sells it: he manages to remind one of Bernard Waber's Lyle books and the style of children's books of the seventies without feeling slavish; it's just a knowing nod.

Library copy ( )

Poor little Caroline Crocodile has a smelly, drooling, no fun baby brother -- and her mom seems to love him more. When Mama Crocodile leaves Caroline in charge of baby brother, she comes up with a great plan to swap him for one that's just right. Caroline steps in to The Baby Shop for the exchange. The assistant happens to have several babies for Caroline to try out, but each one has a good reason to be swapped as well. The baby panda is a fussy eater. The two teeny tigers are a terrible twosome. In the end, she realizes the brother she has is just right for their family. The colorful illustrations really capture the hilarity of each new baby Caroline tries out. ( )

Jealous sister seeks replacement for baby sibling. ( )