Horn Book Review
What firstborn doesn't revel in being thought of by his parents as "simply the funniest, cleverest, most adorable person they had ever seen"? Such is the case with young Elmore Green, whose worldview is upended by the arrival of a new baby sibling. As the baby grows bigger -- and bossier and peskier -- so does Elmore's resentment, until: "One awful day, the small person moved its bed into Elmore Green's room. Now Elmore couldn't get away from it. It was always there, looking at him." Lest we forget whose side we're on, the omniscient narrator refers to the baby throughout as "the small person" or, more pointedly, "it." And Elmore's got a point; the baby is shown doing all the annoying things little kids do: stealing toys, being a copycat, demanding its own way, etc. At the same time -- and although Elmore's not impressed -- we see some of its endearing qualities ("Sometimes it would stretch out its arms and say, 'Huggie!'"). The small person finally proves its worth by bravely shooing away big-bro's nightmare, and Elmore realizes the value of having someone who's always got your back. Child (creator of Charlie and Lola, who, with their big, expressive, oval-shaped eyes, bear resemblance to these kids) is no stranger to fraught sibling dynamics, and her trademark mixed-media collages -- textured, fragmented, always with a kid's-eye view -- sympathetically reflect the experiences of a no-longer-only child. elissa gershowitz (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A familiar themea big brother feels displaced by a new babyseems fresh in Child's latest."Elmore Green started off life as an only child, as many children do," opens the wry text. Accompanying art depicts a brown-skinned boy with tousled black hair, wearing photo-collaged knitwear and grasping his bedroom doorknob. At first, his room remains his own, even when "the new small person" arrives, and Elmore's upset arises not from sharing either space or things, but from insecurity. He worries that his parents and others might like the baby "a little bit MORE than they liked Elmore Green." Such concerns don't foster affection, and Elmore sees even more reasons to remain leery when his brother begins copying him, following him around, interfering with his things and (horrors!) sharing his bedroom. This last development, however, provokes brotherly love when Elmore has a nightmare and his brother crawls into his bed to soothe him. It's a pleasing twist on typical stories about sibling rivalry, in that the little brother's actions change the dynamic rather than vice versa. Shared activities and playthings strengthen their bond, resulting in a happy ending for Elmore and Albert, whose name is finally revealed upon his big brother's change of heart. How nice to see a familiar story made new with a family of color and a little brother as hero. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
