Books About a New Baby for Big Brothers and Big Sisters

The best books about a new baby give the older child words for mixed feelings and remind them they still matter. Read them in the months before the birth, then keep reading after the baby comes home. From our own library, we'd start with four: Socks & Tuxedo: A Purr-fect Rivalry, a funny classic about a cat whose home suddenly includes a newcomer; The Birthday Light, a personalized book all about the big kid that makes a thoughtful gift from the baby; I Love You Mom and I Love You Dad, which put your child and a parent together on every page; and The Emotion Emporium, for naming anger and sadness.

Our personalized books turn one photo of your child into the illustrated hero, with their name in the story. They are written for ages 2 to 10, and you see a free preview before you buy. This is a guide to our own books, alongside what pediatric guidance says about the months around a new baby.

Quick picks: books for a new big brother or big sister

The standard US one-time hardcover price for a personalized book is $44.99, plus shipping and tax. In I Love You Mom and I Love You Dad, the parent is added as a companion for $4.99 in the US. Classics have their own price on their product pages, and shoppers in other countries see their own price at checkout.

When should you start reading books about a new baby?

Start once your child knows a baby is on the way. There's no exact week to aim for, and the reading shouldn't stop at the birth: for many big siblings, the feelings show up once the baby is home and taking up everyone's arms.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests reading children's books about newborns and siblings with your child, which helps them become familiar with words like sister, brother and new baby. Nemours KidsHealth points out that preschoolers may not grasp concepts of time, so "the baby comes in the spring" or "after your birthday" means more than "in four months."

Socks & Tuxedo: A Purr-fect Rivalry, for the jealous feelings

Socks has a pretty sweet life. Naps on the couch? Check. A private toy collection? Check. Then the humans come home with a small black and white cat and announce, "This is Tuxedo. He's coming to live with us!" Socks has one answer: "Excuse me?"

Everyone thinks Tuxedo is so cute. Socks does not. When Tuxedo tries to share the bed, Socks spreads out as wide as he can. When a video of Tuxedo hopping in and out of a box goes viral, Socks pushes in for a turn and hits the side of the box: thunk. Eventually it's time for drastic measures: the cold shoulder. No cuddles. No purrs. No eye contact.

A cat stands in for the big sibling, so your child can laugh at Socks's grumpiness without being the one in trouble. That makes it easier to talk about jealousy without insisting that excitement is the only acceptable feeling. Try asking, "Has anything ever made you feel like Socks?"

A Purr-fect Rivalry is one of our classics. It is not personalized: the story and art are the same in every copy, and Socks and Tuxedo are the stars. See Socks & Tuxedo: A Purr-fect Rivalry.

The Birthday Light: a gift from the baby that's all about the big kid

When a new baby arrives, almost every gift that comes through the door is for the baby. A book that stars the older child turns that around. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that some family and friends bring the older child a small gift when they bring gifts for the baby, which helps them feel special rather than left out.

The Birthday Light was written as a birthday keepsake, and its pages are about who your child is. It opens at the bathroom mirror: "Look in the mirror, what do you see? A hero, a dreamer, as great as can be!" From there it moves through your child's hands, made "for helping, for building, and play," their voice, their big heart and their questions. Your child's name runs through the rhymes, and their illustrated face fills the pictures.

One line lands especially well for a new big brother or sister: "There's no one like" your child, "not near and not far." Wrap it as a welcome-home present and write a note inside from the baby, something like "To my big sister, who I'm lucky to have." Then keep it on the shelf for their next birthday. See The Birthday Light.

I Love You Mom and I Love You Dad: time alone with a grown-up

In I Love You Mom and I Love You Dad, your child and a parent appear together on all 20 inside pages and the cover. You upload a photo of the parent as well as your child, and you can change the name to whatever your child calls them. The product pages note that stepparents and grandparents work too.

The pages move through small, ordinary moments together. In I Love You Dad, the two of them garden, build a block tower, and curl up in a hug: "When I am scared or feeling small, you make me feel ten stories tall." In I Love You Mom: "When I am sad or feel a bit low, you're the first place that I want to go."

These books aren't about the baby at all, and that's the point. The American Academy of Pediatrics describes a new baby as a chance for partners and other family members to spend time alone with older children, and KidsHealth suggests setting aside time each day for one parent's undivided attention. A book that shows your big kid and their grown-up together gives that time a place to start. Our Help article explains how to add a parent or grandparent. See I Love You Dad or I Love You Mom.

The Emotion Emporium: words for big feelings

"Welcome one and welcome all!" says the fox shopkeeper at the Emotion Emporium, a place where feelings hide behind doors. His apprentice is lost in one of the rooms, and your child sets off to find him. The first door is "big and fiery and red." Behind it: "This room is anger." The next is round and blue as the sea, and inside, "This room is sadness."

Jealousy often comes out as anger or sadness, and The Emotion Emporium gives your child the words before the next hard moment arrives. In the anger room, the example child remembers a trick: breathe through your nose, count slowly to ten, and think of a place you feel calm. Read it on a calm day so the words are ready when you need them. Read more in our guide to The Emotion Emporium, or see The Emotion Emporium.

Big feelings a big sibling might have

A big sibling can feel several of these in one afternoon, and that's normal. ZERO TO THREE, the early-childhood nonprofit, tells parents to expect a child to act out feelings about the new baby, and describes clinginess and changed behavior as common as firstborns make sense of the change. A book gives you a way to name the feeling out loud ("Socks feels left out. Do you ever feel that way?") without making your child defend themselves.

What books won't make the older child feel like a babysitter?

Choose books where the older child is the hero of their own story, not the baby's helper. ZERO TO THREE suggests inviting a child to help with the baby only if they're interested, and avoiding forcing them, because that sends the message that they have to be happy about the baby. Every book in this guide is about the big kid: their feelings, their qualities, their time with a grown-up.

If your child does want to read to the baby, let them. A big sibling who chooses to share a book is doing it on their own terms.

How do you prepare a toddler for a new baby?

Books are one part of it. A few other steps from pediatric guidance:

1. Tell them in terms they can picture. Tie the arrival to a season or a holiday rather than a number of months, as KidsHealth suggests.
2. Time the big changes. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests finishing toilet training or a move from a crib to a bed before the baby arrives, or waiting until the baby is settled at home.
3. Keep routines steady. KidsHealth recommends keeping routines as regular as possible in the weeks around the birth.
4. Don't force interest. If your child ignores the baby at first, KidsHealth says not to be alarmed or force it. It can take time.
5. Protect one-on-one time. Even a short daily stretch with one parent's full attention helps, and bedtime reading is an easy one to keep.

One book for each child

Each Magic Story book has one main child hero, so you can't put two siblings side by side as co-stars. Instead, give each child their own book and their own starring role. You can manage every child's books from one account. Our Help article on books for siblings and a second child explains how it works. The books are written for ages 2 to 10, so a newborn's turn to star comes later.

How does a personalized book work?

1. Upload one clear photo and add your child's name. Your child becomes the illustrated hero, and the story uses their name. For I Love You Mom or I Love You Dad, you add the parent's photo too.
2. See a free personalized preview before you buy. No credit card is needed. The preview shows your child in a scene or on a cover from the book, not every page; our Help article on the free preview explains what you'll see.
3. Get the hardcover. Each book is printed to order after you buy, then shipped to the address you choose.

In the US, Standard delivery takes 5 to 10 business days from order to arrival, including printing, and Expedited takes 5 to 8. These are estimates, not guarantees, and checkout shows the estimate for your address. If you're ordering ahead of a due date, read how long a book takes to arrive.

Sources

• American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org: Preparing Your Older Child for a New Baby: How to Help Siblings Adjust
• Nemours KidsHealth: Preparing Your Child for a New Sibling
• ZERO TO THREE: Preparing Your Older Child for the Arrival of a New Baby