As a family who loves books it seemed natural that when I was pregnant with Master C we introduced Little Miss C to a selection of books all about there being a new baby in the family. By the time Master C was born she was pretty comfortable with the idea of a baby and had a good idea of what was going to happen with the new tiny baby.
But, as we all know, babies grow up. They learn to crawl and move around. They become toddler. Suddenly the older sibling’s possessions aren’t safe any more and their younger brother or sister just wants to join in with everything they’re doing. For us this stage was much more difficult than when we brought a new baby into the house. After all a new baby stays where they’re put and apart from feeding and screaming doesn’t actually require as much attention or interaction as a slightly older child.
I therefore read Lauren Child, of Charlie and Lola fame’s, new book The New Small Person with LMC with great interest as to how she would relate to the story. Much like LMC herself, Elmore Green started life as an only child, but all that changed when “the new small person” arrived.
Once the new small person was big enough he started messing with Elmore Green’s toys, demanding to watch shows for small people on the television, and even wearing Elmore’s fourth most favourite outfit without asking. The new small person wanted to copy everything Elmore did and on one awful day even moved their bed into Elmore’s bedroom. Elmore Green was not happy.
One night though everything changed. Elmore had a bad dream and the new small person was there to comfort him. Then the new small person actually stared to play with Elmore. He understood how important it was to Elmore to line up all his precious things so they reached from his bedroom door all the way down the stairs.
That stage of a sibling relationship when they finally start to actually enjoy each other’s company is a precious one, and one which I really hope we are starting to reach. In the meantime I think LMC now has a bit more of an understanding that her brother isn’t really going to ruin all her games and everything she wants to do forever. He will grow up and will start to understand better that it’s not really fair to destroy the beautiful way she’s set up all her Playmobil characters. I know this stage won’t last forever, but it is exhausting and frustrating for the whole family.
I loved The New Small Person for the simple reason that it was the first time that I’ve seen this particular stage of that sibling relationship captured so perfectly. As a book it’s really helped our family and I would definitely recommend it for any older sibling that’s currently struggling with their little brother or sister. Lauren Child’s familiar style will definitely appeal, especially to any little Charlie and Lola fans.
Disclaimer: We were sent a copy of The New Small Person for the purposes of this review. This post contains affiliate links.
Michelle Garrett says
This book sounds lovely. I see a lot of my friends trying to work out how to handle this relationship at these ages. It’ll be good to have a book to recommend to them next time! x
Nikki Thomas says
I love Lauren Child books and we are huge Charlie and Lola fans as she just gets children and the way that they think. This sounds like a wonderful book, thanks for the review
Kate Takes 5 says
Oh I love the sound of this. Adding it to the Christmas list!
Michelle Twin Mum says
Ahh I had no idea it was Lauren Child who did Cahrlie and Lola, this book sounds like a really good idea. Mich x
Cass@frugalfamily says
This sounds like a good one – I might have to buy it for my godson’s Birthday next month x x
Amanda says
Love Lauren Child, you can always tell her books from a mile away too. Great read x
Boo Roo and Tigger Too says
We love Lauren Child books, she has the amazing ability to transport children into the story.