Top books for introducing young children to the idea of a new baby

‘Can I have a toy please, baby?’

Baby Girl was speaking to my tummy. We were in the middle of reading one of her books about a new baby, and we had been talking about the fact that she could bring a present for baby when baby arrives and perhaps baby would have a gift to her as well. She was all smiles. Reading books about having a new baby in the house have become one of her favourite activities, and she’s also insisted on bringing one to nursery, where it was included at circle time.

As a mum, I’m feeling anxious about how she will cope with a baby in the house and I worry about how to keep her involved, so that’s why I love these types of books. Here are some of my favourite picks so far:

The New Baby (Usborne, £3.99)
The New Baby book, which I’ve received a sample copy of, follows the story of a family with two children having a new baby. The grandparents come to stay with the older siblings, and mum goes to hospital when she wakes up feeling the baby is soon to arrive. When baby is born, dad takes the siblings to visit mum and baby in hospital, and at home they help bath baby and take baby for a stroll in the pram. The colourful and fun illustrations include a lot of additional details, which makes it easy to talk around the subject, and Baby Girl seems to love the page where the little boy has brought a cuddly toy for his new baby sister. I like the fact that there are also illustrations of mum feeding baby and the other siblings sitting around waiting and playing with their own toys, as it is probably going to be very hard to grasp that mum can’t join in at all times after baby arrives. There’s also The New Baby Sticker Book (£4.99) in the same series, which tells the same story, and some children might prefer this, or you can have both. Baby Girl is so excited about becoming a sister, so I don’t mind that the story is the same in both books – it’s more about her feeling she is part of the journey and can prepare for the new arrival with as many activities and stories as possible.

There’s Going to Be a Baby (Walker Books, £12.99)
The hardcover book There’s Going to Be a Baby aimed at children aged one to five was the first book we spotted about introducing the idea of a new baby, and the classic illustrations make it a lovely book to keep. The story is about a mum who sits down and tells her son that there’s going to be a baby, and we then follow mum and son through all the seasons while they are chatting about baby’s name and what baby is going to do when growing up. I was hoping there would be more about caring for baby and the early days, but Baby Girl is still very fascinated with the book, and I like that the book focuses on the waiting period too, which has been useful for us since we still have some months to go. In addition, this book also has a page on the sibling going to hospital to visit the new baby, which is sweet.

Tags: Books, Review, Siblings, The New Baby, There's going to be a baby, Usborne