Trials, Triumphs, and Stinky Diapers! Superheroes Don't Babysit by Amber Hicks

The caped superheroine is just about to save the city from the evil Zog when Dad appears, requesting a really big favor...

...KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR LITTLE BROTHER?

Superheroes don't babysit, but A deal is struck and Zog will have to wait! It's Super Sitter on Duty!

Right away, he whines that he's hungry, so, being a dutiful superhero sitter, she'll make him a healthy snack. Right away, he won't eat it. He'll demand an ice cream sundae. He'll also insist on squeezing on the chocolate sauce from the big bottle. Right away, she's got her first super cleanup feat to perform! Then, she'll have to read his favorite story to him.

SEVEN TIMES!

And while she's heroically wiping up chocolate syrup from the floor, she smells something really stinky.... and it's not the trash!

After a heroic cleanup and a rubber-gloved diaper change, (Superheroes don't call their daddies to handle poopy diapers), her little brother runs straight to her room and asks to play with her dolls! They are NOT dolls, she explains. They are...

ACTION FIGURES!

And he can't play with them..., but OOOPS! That one's broken! But then he says he's sorry and...

HE'LL HUG HER.

And he'll fall asleep against her sweetly and she'll realize...

EVEN SUPERHEROES NEED SIDEKICKS!

Awwww! Not even a mighty superhero sister can resist the charms of a trusting and sleeping toddler, in Amber Hicks' Superheroes Don't Babysit (Beaming Books, 2020). This is a super sweet story of sibling rivalries resolved which shows that true superheroes can conquer more than bad guys, illustrated with super charm in the sympathetic artwork of Kyle Reed. Says Kirkus Reviews, this one ... "combines familiar picture-book tropes into something clever and new."

Hostile Takeover! The Bossier Baby by Marla Frazee

From the moment his sister arrives... the Boss Baby had a feeling change was in the air.

Boss Baby has ruled the executive suite for a long time. His dark power onesie and skinny tie show he's all business, but suddenly it seems his staff (Mom and Dad) have conspired to carry out a hostile takeover, in the form of a new baby sister. In her no-nonsense black onesie and baby-safe pearls, she's swiftly moving into the corner office.

She is bossier than Bossy Baby has ever been. And she's set to carry out a total restructuring of the corporation...

"... from the top down!"

She revels in the perks of her position....

Organic catering service (mother's milk on tap)

Aromatherapy (dirty diapers whisked away by subcontractor Tidee Didee)

Stress management (an assortment of stylish pacifiers)

And her ride is the Cadillac of exec baby carriages.

There's no doubt that Bossy Baby has been demoted, kicked downstairs by a baby sister, who is clearly the Bossier Baby. He's definitely a disgruntled employee and opts for a bit of industrial sabotage.

He slips out his professional onesie in public, but Mom doesn't give him a glance. He pees into the park flowers, but Dad doesn't notice.

...the CEO and staff paid no attention to him.

No matter what he did!

The Boss Baby has clearly been terminated, forced into early retirement. He tosses his briefcase down and rips off his green eyeshade. He goes to his room and crouches in a corner for a good cry.

But the CEO knew what to do. (She wasn't CEO for nothing!)

The Bossier Baby crawls into his room, and when the old Baby turns around, she gives him the universal and irresistible "pick-me-up" gesture. Savvy in handling restiveness in the ranks, this CEO knows how to handle her human resources, and in the Caldecott-winning Marla Frazee's clever follow-up to her hit, The Boss Baby (Classic Board Books), her just published The Bossier Baby (Beach Lane Books, 2016) will have the gross sales chart heading on up.

Frazee's cleverly comic 1950s-retro setting is perfect for this spoof of both corporate takeovers and the newborn blues, a dandy pairing with her first book for a mock-sophisticated look at the new baby syndrome. Along with its clever premise, Frazee's prize-winning artwork finds its metier in her stylized and stylish gouache and pencil illustrations for this book. "Someone give Frazee a raise!" says Kirkus in a starred review.

Heavy Metal? TIN by Chris Judge

TIN'S MOM ASKED HIM TO LOOK AFTER HIS LITTLE SISTER, NICKEL FOR THE AFTERNOON.

"NO PROBLEM." HE SAYS.

Expecting easy duty, big brother Tin sends little Nickel off to play on the backyard gym, and leans back against a tree to enjoy his new comic book without another thought.

But while big brother Tin is lost in his story, Sis is setting out on an adventure of her own. Spotting a red helium balloon caught in the top of their tree, she begins a potentially accident-prone ascent. Luckily, somebody is being a better babysitter than Tin!

WOOF! WOOF!

Their dog Zinc's warning bark rouses Tin. He clambers up the tree to rescue Nickel, just as she grabs the string of the balloon. The balloon floats free, with Nickel hanging on for dear life.

Tin jumps on his bike, pedaling at top speed as he follows the balloon as it is blown from the suburbs toward the city. Soon Nickel is dangling over downtown, high above the skyscrapers. Tin climbs up to the tallest tower and manages to get a tenuous hold on the string. Weighted down, their balloon sags lower.

But as the breeze blows the two past a parade and over Safari Park, the balloon finally breaks, and Tin and Nickel fall down, down, down, luckily landing on an elephant and a giraffe, respectively, just as the two animals split off to head toward their own quarters. Hanging onto the giraffe's neck, little Nickel is having the time of her life, but her big brother is NOT! How can he find his sister and get her back into their backyard before Mom notices they're gone? In Chris Judge's Tin (Andersen Press Picture Books) (Andersen Press, 2014), there's no back story on the metallic robotic characters, but this plot-driven tale is quite an adventure for this unusual brother-and-sister pair. Judge's illustrations provide the visual appeal, with his tin-man-type people and his surrealistic geometric Big City of blocky buildings add interest to this unusual story. "...a delightfully detailed futuristic society depicted in geometric shapes and strong ultrabright hues with the appeal of a tiny-tot video game, text and illustrations work in harmony, with each element enhancing the other. Just plain fun," observes Kirkus Reviews.

Play With Me? One Busy Day by Lola H. Schaefer

MIA WANTED TO DO SOMETHING.

ANYTHING

WITH HER BIG BROTHER, SPENCER.

It's the younger sister's dilemma. Big brother Spencer is so cool! Not only does he have a wild imagination; Spencer is born to move, and little sister Mia longs to get in on the action. Spencer zooms from flying his dragon kite to careening his trike, pretending to be a dragon slayer and a race car driver at almost the same time. Deep in play, he pretty much ignores Mia.

Mia has a choice. She could whine and tattle, appealing to Mom.

Or, she can come up with her own fantasy fun.

Mia pretends to be a famous painter. She whirls and twirls like a prima ballerina. Making mud cakes, she imagines herself as a grand chef, surrounded by her fabulous pastries. She constructs a sand mountain with a towering castle on top. She turns her plastic wading pool into an ocean and her floatie toy into a dolphin who carries her bounding over the waves. She throws a blanket over some chairs and crawls inside to explore her deep, dark cave.

As she has hoped, little by little Spencer becomes intrigued with Mia's fanciful adventures, and soon the two are swashbuckling with toy swords, defending their redoubt against fiery dragons, and sailing the seas in tandem imaginings.

MIA AND SPENCER WERE BOTH BUSY. VERY VERY BUSY--TOGETHER.

Author Lola Schaefer revisits the brother and new baby sister characters in her noted first book, One Special Day, a few years later, with the hyperkinetic Spencer still going strong, but with his equally creative sister Mia just old enough to want to get into the act. Schaeffer paces the story well, with Mia's intriguing solo play incrementally catching Spencer's attention, and the illustrations by Jessica Meserve are just as telling and tender in their just published second book, One Busy Day: A Story for Big Brothers and Sisters (Hyperion Books, 2014). Kirkus Reviews gives this sequel a starred review, saying "Hooray for sibling revelry!"

Upping the Ante: Splat the Cat: The Perfect Present for Mom and Dad by Rob Scotton

SPLAT'S TAIL WIGGLED WILDLY.

HE WANTED TO MAKE THE BEST PRESENT FOR HIS MOM AND DAD TO SHOW THEM HOW MUCH HE LOVED THEM.

BUT SPLAT'S SISTER AND BROTHER WERE MAKING PRESENTS, TOO.

Splat fashions a really cute clown fish for a mobile. He's proud of it--until he sees his brother's 3-D model of a tower and his sister's hand-strung necklace with beads that spell out M-O-M in the center.

"I CAN DO BETTER!" SPLAT SAID.

"SO CAN I!" SAID HIS BROTHER.

"ME, TOO!" SAID HIS SISTER.

It's a sibling rivalry which quickly turns into an arms race of product development. Splat adds an artistic octopus to his mobile. His sister adds a matching bracelet to her set. His brother designs an elaborate castle around his initial tower.

"I THINK I CAN DO BETTER!" THEY ALL AGREE.

It's back to the drawing board for Splat and his siblings as they all make their individual projects grander and grander. Finally reason prevails, and the three kitty competitors decide it is time to stop the escalation and pool their efforts.

And the three little cats come up with the perfect gift--one that makes use of ALL of their presents in one--a faux fish tank populated with plenty of mobile critters, with a sunken treasure chest of hand-made beaded jewelry, and a castle for Splat's sea creatures to swim around in. It's the perfect present from the three cooperating kids, in Splat the Cat: The Perfect Present for Mom & Dad (HarperFestival, 2012) in this latest story with a surprise ending that even the three kitties couldn't have predicted. Rob Scotton's able crew of co-author Annie Auerbach and artists Rick Farley and Joe Markel combine their talents as did Splat & Company in this new Splat adventure.

Literary License: Once Upon A Baby Brother by Sara Sullivan

Lizzie loved to tell stories.

Tall ones. True ones.

Funny ones. Sad ones.

Lizzie loved them all.

Only child Lizzie is a born storyteller and the apple of her parents' eye--until she turns seven and Marvin comes along. Suddenly Mom and Dad are absorbed in their new little baby boy and there's not much time to listen to Lizzie's newest literary work. And as Marvin gets old enough to get into Lizzie's stuff, he's just a pest. Who needs a toy bear decorated with glitter glue? Who needs Marvin?

The one bright spot for our frustrated young author is Ms. Pennyroyal, her second-grade teacher, who just adores Lizzie's tales of daring heroines. Suddenly, Lizzie scores a twofer--she gets even with messy Marvin, making him the villain of her classroom writings--Marvinosaurus, Marvin the Ugly Prince, Marvin the Pesky Pirate--while she wins the praise of her pretty teacher and the giggles of her classmates.

And then Mom takes Marvin to visit Grandma. At first Lizzie enjoys having Dad as her full-time audience again. But then Ms. P. gives her class a novel writing assignment--a graphic comic novel--and suddenly Lizzie realizes that she's got an unfamiliar case of writer's block. She's fresh out of material and inspiration. Yikes!

But it's messy Marvin to the rescue. Mom returns with Lizzie's pesky protagonist who brings a fresh repertoire of annoying activities polished at Grandma's. Amazing Marvin and His Wonderdog George rides again, and Lizzie's back in the literature business!

Sara Sullivan and the award-winning artist Tricia Tusa team up in Once Upon a Baby Brother (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) in this story of siblingitis with its due of happy endings. Tusa's comic watercolor sketches add a lot to this story, and The Amazing Marvin has lots of literary promise for future sequels.

Big Bad Ty: Crunch, Munch Dinosaur Lunch! by Paul Bright

I'M BIGGEST. I'M BADDEST,

AND I'M READY TO EAT.

I NEED SOME FRESH

STEGOSAURUS MEAT!!

Ty Rex is big. He's mean. He's totally BAD. He's got big, big jaws with big, big teeth and big, big claws to boot. He's got the whole package to terrorize those veggie munchers in the swamp, and when he's hungry, and he's ALWAYS hungry, it's look out, herbivores.

There's just one problem--his little sister. Teri has tiny, tiny teeth and tiny, tiny claws that couldn't scare a scutellosaurus, and whenever Ty picks out suitable prey, she turns up right behind him:

"HUG OO, TY RANNYNORMUS!" BURBLED TERI, AS HIS STEGOSAURUS PADDLED OFF THROUGH THE SWAMP, SNICKERING.

It's hard to look big and bad when there's an adorable little sister hugging your hind leg. Ty knows he's never gonna crunch and munch some lunch unless he can ditch Teri before she can attack him with more hugs and a plaintive little "Kiss oo, Ty Rannynormus!"

At last Ty manages to sneak away from his sister and is ready for some serious stalking for herbivore hamburger. But then he hears that familiar little voice, this time not cooing,

"TY RANNYNORMOUS!!" SQUEAKED TERI.

IT WAS SPINOSAUROUS! HE WAS HUGE--BIGGER THAN HER BROTHER TY.

HE HAD A HUGE MOUTH AND HIS MOUTH WAS OPENING WIDER AND WIDER!

"DON'T YOU TOUCH MY BABY SISTER!" TY ROARED.

It's big brother to the rescue, in Paul Bright's new Crunch Munch Dinosaur Lunch! (Good Books, 2010). Michael Terry's bright illustrations manage to make both Ty and Teri as cute and charming as, well, a T. Rex can be, and the familiar tale of the pesty little sister and the brave big brother who saves the day goes down well as Ty lives up to his doting little sister's "Wuv oo, Ty Rannynormous!" Pair this witty tale with Kate McMullan's I'm Bad! for a dynamic dino duo.

Sister, Sister: But I Wanted a Baby Brother! by Kate Feiffer and Diane Goode

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF OLIVER KEATON
by Oliver Keaton

My name is Oliver Keaton. My initials are OK.

We have one dog. His name is Chaplin. I don't have any sisters and I don't want a sister.

I want a brother.

But when Oliver Keaton's parents bring home his newborn sibling, he learns an old lesson--you get what you get--and what he gets is a pleasant, pink-clad sister. As far as Oliver is concerned, she only has one good point:

She was bald. Not many girls are bald.

It was important to look happy when they said, "She looks just like you, Oliver," because if she really looked just like me, she'd be a HE!

Oliver comes up with a plan. Maybe he can secretly switch his baby sister for another kid's baby brother. To his surprise, his friends at school are only too eager to make the exchange. Tom's baby brother bawls all day, unlike Julie, whose favorite noise is a giggle. Mary's baby brother keeps her awake all night crying, unlike the cheerful Julie, who already sleeps through the night. Other baby brothers look dumb, unlike the smart Julie, who is beginning to try to say his name and who can already throw a ball, sort of.

Oliver talks his parents into taking the whole family to the zoo park. There are sure to be plenty of smart, athletic boy babies there, right? Nope, all the babies Oliver sees are drooly, sleepy, or screaming in anger.

Then he sees a wonderful sign: "CHANGE BABIES," a magical looking place where crying babies go in and happy babies came out! Could this be just the place to swap a baby sister for a baby brother? Oliver pushes his way inside and recoils in horror. A row of yucky baby bottoms is laid out on a long diapering table, and the smell is unmentionable! Ack! Oliver is outa there!

Oliver and Chaplin don't give up quickly, but after a year of searching and examining 106 boy babies, there seems no hope.

None of those baby boys are even up to Julie's standard.

Julie crawled faster, laughed louder, and was more fun to play with than any of the baby brothers out there. She had even learned to throw a ball.

Oliver has to admit it. Julie is pretty cool, even for a sister. But then, when his parents announce that they're having another baby, Oliver can't help thinking.....

Kate Feiffer's newest, But I Wanted a Baby Brother! is a wise and witty little homily about hoping for the perfect sibling, charmingly illustrated by the talented Diane Goode, whose abilities to take a picture book text to the next level are amply displayed here. Her Julie, with her almost bald head and big smile that tells us that she is delighted with her big brother, scowl and all, is cute and cuddly, and the red-haired Oliver, determined to ditch his sister for a baby of a better gender, is the perfect nobody-asked-me-if-I-wanted-a baby-sister older brother. As the reviewer for School Library Journal succinctly puts it, "This clever cautionary tale is nothing short of spectacular."