"Polly and the New Baby" by Rachel Quarry (OUP / Oxford Children's Books)

Being the oldest of three siblings I can still remember my brother and sister as tiny babies, though I can't remember a thing about the bit before, when the whole house felt like it was on pause waiting for their arrival.

In "Polly and the New Baby" Polly is waiting for a new brother or sister - but in the meantime she has loads of fun with her imaginary friend, a bunny who rides in the baby pushchair that was Polly's when she was a tiny tot.

Polly isn't sure how Bunny is going to react when the baby arrives. You see Bunny won't go anywhere without Polly's old baby pushchair - and mum and dad are definitely going to need it back when the new arrival comes.

Mum and Dad, and even Grandma try to gently persuade Polly that the pushchair can be put to better use (which caused C to let out an exasperated "What a spoilt brat! They should just tell her off!" in that super-indignant way that 11 year olds always muster).

Finally though Polly comes to a decision - but it might not be quite what Mum & Dad imagine!22

It's a thoughtful and rather lovely story that touches on things that many kids may be going through in ancitipation of a new brother or sister's arrival, and Rachel's gorgeous muted illustrations are full of character and originality. We love the eventual message about sharing and of course there's nothing quite like teaching a younger sibling all your favourite ways of getting your own way too!



Sum this book up in a sentence: A fab book for soon-to-be sibs, beautifully observing and describing what it feels like to be a big bro or sis.

"Polly and the New Baby" by Rachel Quarry is out now, published by OUP / Oxford Children's Books (kindly supplied forr review).