Books about becoming a big sister do one of four jobs. Some get her ready before the baby comes. Some let her be jealous once it has. Some give her a job to do. And some are for years later, when there are two sisters and the baby is a person. Most lists mix all four together, along with big-brother books, and leave you to sort them out.
This list carries only books with a girl at the centre. It sorts them by what she is feeling, gives the ages and format of each, and names the one to read on the day she wishes the baby would go back.
Why do big sister books help at all?#
The American Academy of Pediatrics puts reading on its short list. Its guide Preparing Your Older Child for a New Baby says plainly: "Read children's books about newborns and siblings with your child." The same guide tells parents to "expect your child to regress a little", and to set aside special time for the older child to read, play or talk.
A big sister book does two of those three things at once. It is special time, and it is somewhere to put a feeling that a three-year-old cannot yet say out loud. The trick is matching the book to the feeling she has this week rather than the one you hope she will have.
Which big sister book does she need right now?#
| What she is feeling | Read | Ages | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excited, and not sure what a baby is | I'm a Big Sister (1997) | 2–5 | Picture book, board book |
| Excited, and you want a gentle read-aloud | Little Miss, Big Sis (2015) | 2–6 | Picture book |
| Jealous, and five or older | Pecan Pie Baby (2010) | 5–8 | Picture book |
| Left out, and three or older | Big Sister Now (2006) | 3–7 | Picture book |
| Looking for something to do | Lola Reads to Leo (2012) | 2–5 | Picture book |
| Years later: two sisters, one in charge | Big Sister and Little Sister (1966) | 4–8 | Picture book |
| Years later, from the little one's side | Big Sister, Little Sister (2005) | 4–8 | Picture book |
An opinion most lists will not give you: the cheerful getting-ready book is the one families buy first and the one that stops working soonest. A girl who has just watched her mother feed the baby for the third time in an hour does not want to hear that being a big sister is wonderful. She wants a book in which another girl feels exactly as she does.
Big sister books for getting ready#
I'm a Big Sister#
- Written by
- Joanna Cole
- Illustrated by
- Rosalinda Kightley
- First published
- 1997
- Ages
- 2–5
- Format
- Picture book and board book
Joanna Cole, first published in 1997 with pictures by Maxie Chambliss, and revised in 2010 with new pictures by Rosalinda Kightley. An older sister tells the story of a new baby coming home to her family, in her own voice.
It is the plainest book here, and it has stayed in print for toddlers since 1997. That plainness is the point: at two, a child does not need a plot about a baby, she needs the baby explained by someone her own size. Read it with her own baby photos beside it, which is the AAP's other suggestion: remind her that she was a baby once too.
Read it if the baby has not arrived yet and she is under four.
Little Miss, Big Sis#
- Written by
- Amy Krouse Rosenthal
- Illustrated by
- Peter H. Reynolds
- First published
- 2015
- Ages
- 2–6
- Format
- Picture book
Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, HarperCollins, 2015. In short rhyming lines, Little Miss learns that she is about to become a big sis, and follows the baby from its "sleep, fuss, eat, repeat" weeks to funny faces and giggly chases.
This is the warmest read-aloud on the list and the quickest. The rhyme carries it, so it works at bedtime for a child too tired for a story with a plot.
Read it if you want one gentle book for the last weeks before the birth.
Big sister books for when she feels left out#
Pecan Pie Baby#
- Written by
- Jacqueline Woodson
- Illustrated by
- Sophie Blackall
- First published
- 2010
- Ages
- 5–8
- Format
- Picture book
Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Sophie Blackall, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2010. Gia's mother is pregnant, everyone keeps talking about the baby, and Gia calls it "the ding-dang baby". Worst of all, the baby already seems to love pecan pie, which was the thing Gia shared with her mother alone.
This is the best book on the list, and the one most lists leave out. Gia is cross for almost the whole story, and Woodson lets her be. A jealous five-year-old hears her own feeling said out loud by someone else, which is more comforting than any amount of being told the baby will be fun.
Read it if she is five or older and the baby has become the only topic in the house.
Big Sister Now#
- Written by
- Annette Sheldon
- Illustrated by
- Karen Maizel
- First published
- 2006
- Ages
- 3–7
- Format
- Picture book
Annette Sheldon, illustrated by Karen Maizel, 2006. It is published by Magination Press, the children's imprint of the American Psychological Association. Kate tells the story herself: her baby brother Daniel has arrived, and she feels left out and forgotten, until she finds a few things that are better about being a big sister now.
It is the younger cousin of Pecan Pie Baby, gentler and more direct, and it ends with a note to parents about the feelings in it. Of all the books here, it is the one most clearly written to be read on a hard day.
Read it if she is three or four and has started acting younger since the baby came.
Big sister books for finding her job#
Lola Reads to Leo#
- Written by
- Anna McQuinn
- Illustrated by
- Rosalind Beardshaw
- First published
- 2012
- Ages
- 2–5
- Format
- Picture book
Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw, Charlesbridge, 2012. Lola already loves books. When her baby brother Leo arrives, she reads to him. Her parents are busy, but they still read to Lola at bedtime.
A new big sister needs a job, and this book hands her one she can do on the first day: read to the baby. It does not matter that she cannot read yet. Telling the baby what happens in a picture book is reading, as far as Lola is concerned, and as far as the baby is too.
Read it if she keeps asking what she is allowed to do.
Big sister books for years later#
Big Sister and Little Sister#
- Written by
- Charlotte Zolotow
- Illustrated by
- Martha Alexander
- First published
- 1966
- Ages
- 4–8
- Format
- Picture book
Charlotte Zolotow, pictures by Martha Alexander, Harper & Row, 1966. A big sister looks after her little sister all the time, whether she wants to be looked after or not. One day the little sister goes off by herself, and when the big sister finds her, it is the little one who does the comforting.
It is the oldest book here and the quietest, and it is for a different stage entirely. Read it once the baby is walking and the two of them have started to argue about who is in charge.
Read it if the baby is now old enough to be bossed about.
Big Sister, Little Sister#
- Written by
- LeUyen Pham
- First published
- 2005
- Ages
- 4–8
- Format
- Picture book
LeUyen Pham, Hyperion, 2005. The little sister tells this one, about everything the big sister gets first, and the things the little sister is better at anyway. The pen-and-ink pictures slowly show how much the two of them look after each other.
It belongs on the list because it shows a big sister what the arrangement looks like from the other side, which is worth knowing by six or seven.
Read it if you have two girls who are old enough to compare notes.
How do I read a big sister book so it actually helps?#
- Read it when nothing is wrong. A book read in the middle of a meltdown becomes part of the meltdown. Read it the next calm morning.
- Ask about the girl, not about her. "Why do you think Gia is cross?" is easier to answer than "Are you cross?" She will usually answer for herself anyway.
- Keep the jealous book in the house. She may want Pecan Pie Baby every night for a week and then not at all. That is the book doing its job.
- Make it her time. Read it while someone else holds the baby, which is the AAP's special time and the book at once.
What to read next#
- He is the big brother → books about becoming a big brother, sorted by age and moment.
- The whole family's change → a book about becoming a big brother or sister.
- Twins are coming → a personalized book for twins.
What does a book where my child is the main character do for a big sister?#
Who each of these suits, in one line:
- Getting ready, under four → I'm a Big Sister.
- Getting ready, and you want a gentle rhyme → Little Miss, Big Sis.
- Jealous at five or older → Pecan Pie Baby.
- Left out at three or four → Big Sister Now.
- Looking for a job → Lola Reads to Leo.
- Years later → Big Sister and Little Sister, then Big Sister, Little Sister.
Look at what the girls in these books give up. Gia gives up the pie being hers alone. Kate gives up being the only one. Even Lola, the happiest of them, does her reading quietly now. Every one of them becomes a good big sister by making herself a little smaller.
Some girls are not small. They are loud, they love a party, and they are about to be told to hush for a year. None of the books on this shelf is about her, and none of them lets her keep the drum.
A book where my child is the main character can be about exactly that girl. Our shop has one: Your Child and the Welcome Party, our personalized big sister book, for ages 2 to 6. She loves parties, so when her baby brother comes home she throws him a welcome party with balloons, a drum, a cake and a very loud song. SURPRISE! makes him cry. A tiny ladybug teaches her how big a party should be for a baby: one balloon, one tiny song, one finger. And then she takes the drum to the playroom and drums anyway, because there is a time for small and a time for big.
The sample below stars Ava, who is four. It opens: "Do YOU like parties? Well, Ava LOVES parties. She has big ideas, a big voice, and a big pink flamingo named Pip." For your copy you add your daughter's photo and name, and every page is painted with her. You choose big sister or big brother when you add her, and the story follows.
A book from our shop · ages 2–6
Your Child and the Welcome Party
Your child LOVES parties — big ideas, a big voice, and a plush flamingo named Pip. So when baby Max comes home, the welcome party is LOUD… and SURPRISE! makes him cry. With a little help from Dot the ladybug, your child learns how big a party should be for a baby: one balloon, one tiny song.
Shown here starring Ava, 4. Yours is painted with your own child’s face and name on every page, from $39 — and you see the pages before you pay.
The photo they uploaded
The character we drew
Written from this story — not a stock track with a name dropped in. Free with every book.
How the story begins
- 1Do YOU like parties? Well, Ava LOVES parties. She has big ideas, a big voice, and a big pink flamingo named Pip. Together they drum, and they dance, and they SING.
- 2Ava's best friend is a flamingo named Pip . . . . . . and the smallest one in the nursery is a ladybug named Dot.
- 3One day, something NEW happened. A baby came home. His name was Max. He was very small. He was very sleepy. And he was Ava's brand-new baby BROTHER.
The rest of the story is in Your Child and the Welcome Party.
The words to the song
[Verse 1] Ava loved parties, the bigger the better, Balloons and a drum and a song — every letter! With a tall pink flamingo named Pip by her side, They danced through the house with the doors open wide. [Chorus] How big should a party be? (Small, small, small.) One balloon, one finger, one tiny song — that's all. There's a time for big and a time for small — A big sister knows them both, that's all. [Verse 2] “SURPRISE!” went Ava — oh no, oh dear, Max cried, Pip got tangled, and Dot froze with fear. “Babies,” said the ladybug, “like a little way. One balloon, not twelve — let's try again today.” [Verse 3] Ava wanted to sing it LOUD and proud, “Whisper,” said Dot, “no need for loud.” Pip tried it on a bubble — POP! — oh my, But Max just smiled at his sister. No cry! [Chorus] How big should a party be? (Small, small, small.) One balloon, one finger, one tiny song — that's all. There's a time for big and a time for small — A big sister knows them both, that's all. [Outro] So the drums and the dancing went down the hall, And the whisper-songs stayed by the crib, so small. One day Max will want a party that's BIG — And Ava will throw it, with a flamingo jig.
How do you get it with her in it?
1. Open the book. Go to The Welcome Party and press "Personalize this book".
2. Add your child. Her first name, her age, one clear photo of her face, and the consent tick box. The photo is used only to paint the character and is deleted straight after.
3. See the painted cover before you pay anything. If it does not look like her, nothing has been spent.
4. Choose digital, softcover or hardcover. Both prices are on one page. Every book comes with its own song, and the hardcover adds the story read aloud. Afterwards it all lives in your dashboard: the page-flip reader, the audio studio, and a reorder button for when the grandparents want a copy.
If you would rather write her story yourself, the drum and the baby's name and all, a personalized children's book with photo starts from a few lines about her and one picture. Either way, read Pecan Pie Baby first. Then give her the book in which the big sister keeps her big voice.
Book covers are shown unaltered for identification, sourced from Open Library. Each cover remains the property of its publisher and illustrator. KindFable is not affiliated with any of the books recommended here.
