My School ¦ My Baby Brother Ned

My School is a first person narrative wherein a little girl shares her first school experiences with the reader. The text is clearly laid out in large print - just the thing for learner readers - and the illustrations, though rather more cosy than those in Starting School, are packed with details of infant school life.

My Baby Brother Ned has the same little girl narrator, but slightly younger, telling us all about her new baby brother. She explains some basic facts about babies from her point of view, but to my mind the picture painted is just a little too rosy, with only the merest hint of sibling jealousy: 'People smile at Ned, but they don't always talk to me.' Children need reassurance that their feelings of resentment towards new baby brothers and sisters are not theirs alone. Nevertheless, a welcome book; and one written in conjunction with the National Childbirth Trust.