Any mom with more than one child knows that sibling rivalry starts before the younger child is even born. The moment an older brother- or sister-to-be realizes that his or her world is about to be turned upside down by the arrival of a new family member, their curious little minds begin filling with all kinds of questions. They wonder about what kind of playmate this new baby will be, whether it will be a boy or a girl, what it will be called, and what it will do.

There’s Going to be a Baby from Candlewick Press combines the renowned talents of husband-and-wife team John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury to gently address just such questions. The book follows the conversations between mother and child through the seasons, from the mother’s first announcement during the winter months to the birth of the new baby the following fall. Readers join mother and son on a series of excursions to the museum, the beach, the zoo, and so on. As they explore together, the mother talks about what the baby might grow up to be – a chef, an artist, a sailor – and her little boy responds with his opinions:

Maybe the baby will be an artist and paint lovely pictures
If the baby is an artist, don’t let it paint pictures in our house. It will make a terrible mess everywhere.

… and then the big-brother-in-waiting imagines the new baby getting into all kinds of mischief and adventure.

What I loved most about this book was the gentle and organic nature of the conversation. There’s Going to be a Baby is how I imagine a real-life conversation between mother and older child – it comes at you sideways, gently building over days, weeks, and months. My favorite page is the one depicting the little boy announcing to his mother from the bathtub, ‘Mrs. Anderson’s baby threw up all over their new carpet.” That’s exactly the type of thing a kid would say, out of the blue, leaving you momentarily speechless.

It’s a testament to Oxenbury’s skills that she was able to illustrate that particular scene with just as much grace as the others in the book. Her illustrations have a comforting retro feel to them and I’d like to redecorate my whole house using her color palette. She captures the lit-from-within serenity of the expectant mom and the climbing-the-walls energy of the young boy with style and accuracy. The comic-style depictions of the new baby getting up to all kinds of shenanigans are a great counterpoint to the other illustrations and add a comic element that kids will love.

The bottom line – this is a must-have for the book collection of any expectant mom with other little ones wondering about the new baby.