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Our "big" kids were not actually all that big when their baby sister came home. But, we tried to talk to them about the upcoming addition to our family anyway. And, we read to them, of course!
Kevin Henkes's book Julius el rey de la casa is the Spanish translation of the original Julius, the King of the House. I had never heard of the English version before buying Julius, el rey de la casa, and the translation was so seemless, I didn't even imagine it could have been written in anything other than espanol.
Julius, el rey de la casa tells the story of Lily, a little mouse whose routines are disrupted when her baby brother is born: she has to be quieter, share her parents, share her toys and her room. While her parents go on and on about how perfect Julius is (as perfect as she was when she was first born, they add), Lily thinks Julius is asqueroso! But when the family throws Julius a party and a cousin regards him with less than enthusiasm, Lily stands up for him and realizes the special place Julius holds in her life.
Our kids loved the illustrations, and the funny, true-to-life story, and the silly exigente voice with which mami read the Lily's voice. I credit this book with making our transition to family of 5 easier and with helping to form our big kids' love and loyalty to their baby sister, even before they met her.
Kevin Henkes's Julius, el rey de la casa is a title older kids (6 and up) could read themselves, and younger ones would enjoy hearing out loud. It would also make a super gift for an older hermanito or hermanita to-be at a baby shower.
1 comments:
How lovely.
Thanks for sharing this. I wish that I had known of this book before my youngest was born. I think it would have really helped my oldest adjust. The description sounds great, though it is the word "asqueroso" that seals it for me! One of my favorite Spanish words - don't know why!
Gracias, Violeta.
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