Vera's Baby Sister

Vera

by Vera Rosenberry

Vera heard the baby crying as they passed her bedroom window.
How could anyone like that loud, smelly thing? Where can Vera find some peace and quiet with a new baby in the house? Now that Vera's baby sister, Ruthie, has arrived, Vera feels there's no place left in the house for her. The baby is loud and smelly, and she fills up every room. Vera wants nothing to do with Ruthie. When Grandpa comes up with a plan to make a special bean tent for Vera out in the yard, Vera is all for it. Of course, as beans and vines grow, so, too, do babies-and who knows where that might lead? In her signature style, Vera Rosenberry explores another pivotal childhood experience in this honest and funny story.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

Reviews

[Maleah Tellado]

This story was focused on a young girl named Vera. Vera has a new baby sister that she is not very fond of due to all of the crying the baby does, as well as all of the attention that the baby receives. To cheer up Vera, her grandfather helps her plant beans that surround a tent made of sticks. From this bean tent, Vera gets her own quiet place and learns about how beans grow, just as babies do. With my concept focusing on family, this book was the perfect add to the topic. Many young children gain siblings in their younger years of life and can sometimes feel left out or forgotten due to a new child arriving. This book represents how those feelings are valid, but also shows the reader a unique way to feel better. As well as the representation of how all things grow and flourish, just as their baby sibling will do. While reading this book, I thought about the text “Decoding the images; How picture books work”, by Perry Nodelman. Here, Nodelman discusses how we use picture books to integrate children into the ideology of our culture. By our cultural standards, siblings should get along and love each other. At the start of this book that is not how Vera feels, like many other young children. However, by the end Vera loves her baby sister which is what is expected by the dominant culture.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice book about needing a spot to yourself with a new baby in the house. Although I worry it will make siblings want their own bean tent, no matter the time of year!