Lauren Child tells the familiar tale of a less-than-welcome sibling with subtlety, insight, affection, and humor.
Elmore Green starts life as an only child, as many children do. He has a room to himself, where he can line up his precious things and nobody will move them one inch. But one day everything changes. When the new small person comes along, it seems that everybody might like it a bit morethan they like Elmore Green. And when the small person knocks over Elmore’s things and even licks his jelly-bean collection, Elmore’s parents say that he can’t be angry because the small person is only small. Elmore wants the small person to go back to wherever it came from. Then, one night, everything changes. . . . In her signature visual style, Lauren Child gets to the heart of a child’s evolving emotions about becoming a big brother or sister.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
The Joys of Having a Sibling
By L. M. Keefer
How delightful to get into the mind of an older brother when a new small person moves into his house. Elmore, the older brother, wants it to go back where it came from but his parents tell him it is not possible. The new small person is annoying. It sits on his toys, it follows him around, and it licks his jelly beans.When the new small person moves into his room, it is particularly exasperating. But then Elmore, the big brother, begins to discover the joys of having a little brother who loves him. This is a heart-warming tale, sure to please siblings and their parents. How refreshing to have some racial diversity in the book, too. This would be a great classroom read-aloud. Then the class could write a story about their sibling, or a best friend who is like a sibling and what they like best about their sibling-friend.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.Share this one with your kids, all of them.
By shane
I picked up this book because it’s by Lauren Child, and in our house we love Lauren Child. I also picked it up because it has two little black boys on the front, and there are not enough little black boys, even in books, in our house.My favorite thing about this book was what happened when I read it to my five-year-old and we got to the third page.Even though my boy is pretty white, he looked at this picture and he said,“That’s me, right, Mom? Because I like jelly beans, too.”And, you guys, when a little white boy immediately identifies with a little black boy, whether in a book or on a playground or at school or whatever, that’s the beginning of the fix of a lot of our problems.http://beapioneergirl.com/2015/03/30/something-to-read-the-new-small-person/
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.There's been an invasion!
By Janet Hamilton
Summary: Elmore Green’s life as an only child is pretty idyllic. He’s got a great room, his own TV on which he can watch whatever he wants, AND he gets to eat all the jelly beans. But one day, everything changes. A new baby moves in. It cries when Elmore wants to watch TV. It comes into Elmore’s room and knocks things over. And worst of all, Elmore suspects people might like it as much as or maybe even more than they like him. One terrible day, its bed is moved into Elmore’s room. Elmore can’t get away from it. But one night, Elmore has a bad dream, and, lo and behold, the new small person comforts him. After that, Elmore begins to notice some other not-so-bad things about his new brother. Finally, he is even willing to share his jelly beans with Albert (except the orange ones).Pros: It’s an old tale, but this book tells it with humor and a pretty good dose of reality. I love how the small person goes from being “it” through most of the book to “him” after he comforts Elmore at night, to finally, “his brother Albert”. This would make a great sibling gift to a kid whose home has recently been invaded by a new small person.Cons: If only sibling relationships were this simple…
