The First Rule of Little Brothers

by Jill Davis, Sarah McMenemy (Illustrator)

HE WANTS TO FOLLOWyou, play with you, act like you, do what you do, and be wherever you are. It’s like he’s trying to become you! Hey, wait—is that the plan?

If they’re big, if they’re little, if they’re in the middle, all siblings will recognize the dynamics of this affectionate silly-smart take on the joys, trials, and surprises of being linked to someone who will share their growing up like no one else. Parents will appreciate how the “rule” is conveyed through humor and silly sibling shenanigans in this warmhearted and lively tale. A great book for families to share.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2008

Reviews

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a young boy who has a little brother that consistently annoys him. Whenever he gets mad at his little brother, his dad asks: "You know the first rule of little brothers, don't you?"Although he doesn't know the answer, he slowly figures it out throughout the book. When his brother was little he was constantly watching him and smiling. Everyone thought he was so cute and always asked the older brother to let him play with him. He would touch all of his older brother's things and smooze the parents into giving him a turn. He became the center of their attention. Then as he started to walk, he became more and more disruptive to the older brother's activities. The older brother would build tall towers just to have them destroyed and knocked over by his little brother. Next, he learned to talk and inherited his new favorite words "me too". Anything the older brother would do, the younger would tag along too. He knew his little brother wasn't capable of everything, or at least he assumed. Until one day his little brother started school. He came home and told his older brother about all of the things he did while he was in school. The next day, the little brother brought home a friend and did all of the things his older brother does, with his new friend. At this point, the older brother was asking if he could join. At that moment the older brother finally learned the rule of little brothers: always do what your big brother is doing. With that came a rule for big brothers too: always be nice to your little brothers even if they are annoying because one day they will be just like you!

Characters: The older brother is annoyed and independent. He lacks patience towards his brother and gets frustrated when his day to day activities are bothered. He's not a fan of sharing nor does he enjoy being copied. However, once he finds similar interests, he learns to be more patient and accepting with his little brother
The younger brother is eager and curious. He wants to try new things and be just like his big brother. There is no task too big and he is determined to accomplish everything that his brother is capable of. He is very social and enjoys the company of others: especially his brother.

Text structure: Something I noticed throughout the text was how scattered the text was. The words would be in multiple sections on some pages to fall under the different illustrations that the words matched. There was no specific order and every turn of a page included a new text organization. The font and size of words also changed according to the plot of the story. When nothing was happening and the author was just explaining something, all of the text would be a normal size and in the same font. However, when something big would happen, the words would get bigger. For example, to show the little brother appeared big and monster like when he knocked over the tower, the font was huge and bold to describe "Bro-zilla". The text was also huge to represent loud sounds such as "crash" when the building fell over. The text was structured in a way to help the reader understand the tone and significance of each passage and created more interest as a result.

There wasn't anything I truly disliked about this book. In fact, I really loved it. I would definitely read this book to my own kids because the illustrations are as darling as the message behind it. I think it puts brotherhood into perspective and is a heart warming story of learning to love your family members even when they consistently annoy you. Essentially, the cute message behind the book is my favorite part.

I would use this book in my classroom as a writing technique for text structure. I think showing an example of modifying word boldness and size is a great way to bring life to your students writing. I also think representing sounds like "crash" is a great introduction into onomatopoeias and their significance in story telling. I also think it would be a great example of sharing to integrate new sharing techniques into your classroom playtime/ recess hours for higher social involvement.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Female author Jill Davis speaks thru a bit character in this charming and sweet kids book. The older boy has to really watch over his much younger brother, since Dad told him the first rule of Little Brothers: everything Big Brother does, Little Brother does too. And Big brother has to love little brother, no matter what. Little Bro likes to mishandle Big Bro's toys and knock down buildings made of blocks, since that's what little brothers do. But in time, this will make the bond between the two unbreakable. I remember actually being a little brother to two older stepbrothers, both of whom had to put up with my baby crap, and I had a little sister. She too had to put up with my baby crap. But we were still family, and we loved each other a lot, even as mother didn't always share that love. Davis knows the values of families and that siblings have a bond that usually doesn't fade easily. Not all families are alike, since some have only one child. But everyone has a right to find a sibling or a sibling like friend to form a shatterproof bond. That kinda love is forever.
Three stars
The little kid may be kinda heavy, but he's still a brother!

[Carla Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet book for children who have recently become older siblings. I opted not to buy it because it was so male-centric that I didn't think my ladybug of a niece would buy in, but I seriously considered it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice gentle way to deal with a younger sibling.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This could apply to Sisters too! :)

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's so great about little brothers, and big brothers, too.