With baby #3 on the way and a very interested three-year-old in the house, we’ve been reading a lot of “baby on the way” picture books. Here are some of our favorites:
It seems like there are many, many more books about biological than adopted babies. I love the impatience and love of big brother Arun in Bringing Asha Home, written by Uma Krishnaswami and illustrated by Jamel Akib, as he waits for his adopted sister to arrive from India. This book does a wonderful job of portraying the bond and love that exists between adopted siblings and their parents just as it does between biological ones – even before the child arrives.
Baby on the Way, written by Martha Sears, William Sears, and Christie Watts Kelly and illustrated by Renee Andriani, feels like a “What to Expect when Mama’s Expecting” book for toddlers. I don’t read the book word-for-word, and my daughter isn’t old/curious enough to care about the “answers for the very curious” sections, but I do think this book has helped Emma gain a better understanding of what pregnancy is, and this is a book that she definitely enjoys reading and discussing.
Newborn, written by Kathy Henderson and illustrated by Caroline Binch, is a book that I love for its illustrations. The words come across as a bit clunky and somewhat abstract for children, but the pictures are exquisite – expressive, warm, and loving.
Are there any other "baby on the way" type books that you recommend?
