The New Small Person

December 8, 2014
Child (the Charlie and Lola books) tackles the new sibling problem with a story about Elmore Green, whose life is wonderful—“Elmore Green’s parents thought he was simply the funniest, cleverest, most adorable person they had ever seen”—until his parents bring home someone new. As “it” enters toddlerhood (Elmore can’t bear to confer personhood on his brother), he wants to be everywhere Elmore is, and eventually moves right into Elmore’s room. “Now Elmore couldn’t get away from it. It was always there, looking at him.” The Greens are a family of color, and Child draws Elmore’s parents as slim, well-dressed torsos and legs, while Elmore has an impressive array of superhero, cowboy, and animal costumes; his sense of order and security is underscored by ivory-colored backdrops lined with his toys, stuffed animals, and beloved orange jelly beans. The selling point is the way Child frames Elmore’s growing love for his brother as the active, incremental discovery of the joy of companionship (“It was nice to have someone there in the dark when the scaries were around”), rather than treacly submission to the inevitable. Ages 4–8.

January 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-Elmore Green's life as an only child is sheer bliss. He has his own room, and no one ever changes the channel or messes with his toys. Of course, "Elmore Green's parents thought he was simply/the funniest, cleverest, most adorable/person they/had ever seen." All of that changes when his baby brother is born. Elmore goes from feeling displaced to angry to just wanting to be alone, until one night, everything changes. The characters are people of color and have the same expressive eyes, and Child's mixed-media images are done in the same signature style as in the "Charlie and Lola" series. The large font flows in curves on some pages and is choppy on others, working well with the illustrations to convey the older boy's feelings. The childlike perspective and simple illustrations will make this story a favorite for any kid who has ever been faced with a new sibling or has ha d to learn to share. Preschoolers will enjoy hearing this story, while independent readers will love the big print and colorful, cartoon illustrations. A worthwhile addition to any collection.-Jennifer Simmons, Anderson County Library, SC

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2014
A familiar theme-a big brother feels displaced by a new baby-seems 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)

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Starred review from March 1, 2015
Grades K-2 *Starred Review* When Elmore Green was an only child, he was the funniest, cleverest, most adorable person his parents had ever seen. After a baby joins the family, though, things seem to change. More change comes when his sibling, consistently referred to here as the small person or it, becomes mobile and verbal. When it grows even more, it follows Elmore everywhere, copies everything he does, and even shares his bedroom. Still, when Elmore has a nightmare, he discovers that sometimes a brave companion is just what he needs. Gradually, Elmore warms up to the small person, who becomes his brother, Albert. While the story arc is familiar, Child's version is fresh and amusing. Any child who has had to share jellybeans, not to mention parents, will understand the emotional conflicts at work in the lively text and striking digital collage illustrations. The children are fully depicted from head to toe, with brown skin, black hair, and large, expressive eyes. But when adults appear, they are shown only from the waist or shoulders down. Clearly, the kid's perspective is of prime importance here. With expressive illustrations and a story that speaks directly to children, this picture book is beautifully crafted for reading aloud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2015
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

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)