What to Expect When the New Baby Comes Home: A Helpful Picture Book for Children (Ages 4-8) About Becoming a Big Sibling

by Heidi Murkoff, Laura Rader (Illustrator)

With the help of Angus, the lovable Answer Dog, best-selling author Heidi Murkoff extends a hand to children and parents as they tackle life's first experiences together. Congratulations! The new baby you've spent the last nine months preparing for has finally arrived. Although you may be prepared and thrilled, what about your older child? As your preschooler makes the transition from only child to older sibling, he or she will be excited, curious, and somewhat anxious about the little bundle you've brought home. We're here to help you answer your child's questions about what new babies look like, what they do and don't do, and what having one around the house will really be like. Have fun! Heidi and Angus

Genres: Parenting, Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2001

About the author

Heidi Murkoff is the co-author of the What to Expect When You're Expecting series of pregnancy guides. She is also the creator of WhatToExpect.com and founder of the What to Expect Project.

Reviews

[Ashley Hubbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so informational for new moms who are expecting a baby. The "Answer Dog" gives all of the answers that new moms are wondering. It tells about what new babies will look like, what they will eat, why they cry so much. It also talks about why they eat and sleep so much, and why they cannot do anything on their own.

This book has a lot of useful information, and even I learned a lot. I do not have children, obviously, but I have been around lots of kids and some of the information was very new to me! I am excited to read this book when I become a mother. Five stars.

[Voracious_reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book for a young child preparing for the arrival of a sibling...but not that young. The book recommends itself to children aged 2-5. Eh. Eh. Our two-year old is genuinely precocious. She loves to read. Her pediatricians and other specialists have said she's quite remarkable. Ok, enough bragging. My point is that at 2 1/2 she found the book to be too detailed and written for an older child. Granted there may have been some emotional components unrelated to the book that made her shy away from it; nevertheless, there's really no foolproof way for me to determine whether it was her or the book. But I suspect that it was the book. We ended up reading it in chunks like a chapter book rather than reading it all in one night. She LOVES being a big sister. There've got to be books out there that are better for the 2-3 age range on the topic of introducing a new sibling. I'd give the book more stars if it were recommended for an older reader.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book preparing siblings for a new baby. I've read it to each of my kids when I was expecting the next child. My girls were younger when I read it to them and my son was a bit older (5), but he still really liked the book. When we brought our last baby home from the hospital, he would actually recite things from the book about why she was upset or things to try to calm her down. It was cute. It was also fun to see all 3 of them read together as it got closer for me to deliver. They were actually the ones who found it on the bookshelf and pulled it out to read! I definitely recommend it.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book to read with a preschool or kindergarten age child whose mother is expecting a baby. Each two page spread begins with a typical question that a child may have about a new baby, which is then answered with a simple explanation and accompanied by a full-page cartoon illustrating the situation.

For very small children expecting a new sibling, My New Baby would be an excellent choice.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I loved this book. It gave answer to so many different questions she had as well as ones she had yet to come up with. She picked it for bedtime reading for about two weeks straight. Then continued to come back to it over the remaining months of waiting for baby.
Some times there was too much info for her concentration ability (she was 2.5) but overall it was just what she wanted.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure who the audience is. Obviously, it's supposed to be for a small child, but the formatting is more for an older child or parent. Does offer good advice and encourages the child to become involved with the baby.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough but not too much for the preschool who's about to become a big brother or sister.