Julius, the Baby of the World

Lilly, like many children, finds her baby brother doesn't live up to the pre-birth hype. He steals attention from her is what he does.

And she expresses this the way many children do - she uses her words. People claiming that their children never, ever, EVER use words like "hate" or "ugly" or "disgusting" either don't have four year olds (Lilly's approximate age), have blocked that age from their memory, are lying, are lying to THEMSELVES, or have the sweetest, nicest, most wonderful children in existence.

The rest of us live in the real world where four is the age of the potty mouth. Gosh, if I go through a day without hearing "I'm NEVER gonna be your SISTER ever AGAIN" and "I hate you, you're MEAN!" and "You're UGLY and MEAN and I'm show more gonna PEE ON YOU!" I start feeling foreheads! And of course my two nieces love each other very much (heaven forbid I put one in time-out for antagonizing her sister, it's the other one who whines and tries to convince me it's unnecessary and sneaks around to hand out hugs behind my back!), but like all young children they have big emotions and limited means of expressing them. (Really, I'm just happy they use their words instead of their hands.)

And of course they didn't pick up the words "hate" and "ugly" and "disgusting" from the book, they picked it up from other children and from us - who doesn't say, when they burn their toast for the third time in a row, "Ugh, I hate burned toast"? Who doesn't say, when their kid picks their nose at the table, "Ugh, that's disgusting, go wash off and don't do it again"? Who doesn't say, when they find a bug in the house, "Hey, an ugly bug! Let's put it outside!"? (Who really wants to limit their child's vocabulary and leave them hopeless when they start school?)

So yes, this is a very realistic book. And the resolution - banding together to protect her brother from an outsider - is pretty realistic too, the surplus of mice notwithstanding. I definitely recommend it for any child in the suggested age range of 4 - 8. show less

Lilly doesn't appreciate her new baby brother at all. "I am the queen," said Lilly. "And I hate Julius." Her parents love him though and repeatedly proclaim him the baby of the world. Lilly does everything she can to thwart him (telling him he's ugly, teaching him his numbers and letters in the wrong order, making him cry, ignoring him, etc.) and spends quite a bit of time in the uncooperative chair. (My favorite bit is when she warns pregnant strangers: "You will live to regret that bump under your dress.") Nothing helps her contain her jealousy -- until the party her parents throw in honor of Julius when cousin Garland pronounces Julius "disgusting". Which makes Lilly's nose twitch and her eyes narrow and her fur stand on end. show more Suddenly sibling pride kicks in and Lilly (as queen) forces cousin Garland to kiss and admire and stroke Julius and repeat "JULIUS IS THE BABY OF THE WORLD". And from that moment on, for Lilly, he was. show less

Lily is self-centered little mouse. She is extremely put out when Julius, her baby brother, enters the scene. She does everything she can to torture him (and her parents) while showing her displeasure at his arrival. That is, until cousin Garland arrives. Henkes fun, colorful illustrations along with his witty writing make this a favorite of students, teachers and parents.

I really liked this book because it is extremely relatable. There is a new baby coming into the family, and Lily is extremely jealous--as any older sibling would be. The new baby seems to take up all of the parents' attention, even love, and no one likes to be out-shined. As humans, we like to be the most popular and well-liked, and so when someone threatens that, we tend not to like them, and that is exactly what happens with Julius.

It was also really cool to see how quickly Lily changes her opinion of Julius when someone ELSE poses a threat to him. When someone out-shines you, you feel it is your right to detest them (both privately and publicly), but when someone else shows those same feelings, you feel personally offended. This may show more be a baby who is making Lily frustrated, but it is her brother, and it is her responsibility to stick up for him. I'm really glad the author included this point--it makes it all the more relatable, and therefore all the more realistic. show less

Julius is Lilly's new baby brother. She hates him. He takes attention away from her, he's loud, she has to share with him. She terrorizes him and asks when he'll be leaving. That is until her cousin insults him. Then she defends him and after that she loves him.
I love this book. I think it's a realistic portrayal of how an older sibling feels when a new baby comes home. It's funny and I think could be helpful for kids who are working through similar feelings. The ending might be a bit unrealistic, but it's sweet.

Julius, the Baby of the World, is a hilarious, relatable book to anyone who has a younger sibling. It would be the perfect book to read to a soon-to-be older sibling. The text is very funny and original, just like the illustrations. Reading it, I knew the older sister would change her mind in the end, but I was delighted that it was because she needed to stick up for and protect her baby brother. It is a fully charming book, one I would be happy to add to my classroom library.

This book is one of my favorites, done by Kevin Henkes. Lilly does not know how to feel when her baby brother, Julius is born. For most of the book, when she says "He is the baby of the world", she is disgusted, while her parents are in love and caring. Lilly feels this way, until her cousin voices his opinion and she will not allow anyone to say things like that about her brother. I love this book because many children experience these feelings and this book can help them cope with them. For example, when my youngest cousin was born, he older brother was very upset. He insisted on having a little brother, but things do not work that way. For months, he did not want to help feed, bathe, or play with her. Eventually the time came when he show more accepted that she was here to stay, he warmed up to her and would do anything for her. They are not very close and protective of one another. As we were reading this book, I felt as if I was reliving this experience. show less