Big Brother's Little Caregiver by Rhett Blue

When Jacob decides to study the triplets for his school project, he approaches them with scientific curiosity. So it’s apt that one of her last works is this joyful observation of human development, by a soon-to-be adolescent. Throughout her long career, MacLachlan, who won the Newbery Medal for “Sarah, Plain and Tall,” zoomed in on family life. Miller and Santat deliver a super-fun, original and solidly constructed story with an adorable and climactic conclusion. A screen above the changing table flashes with an advertisement: “Deposit your infant” and “in less than an instant turn crybaby into cool stuff.” An elongated moment of truth unfolds over several exhilarating spreads. With a “Stranger Things” ambience and war-room imagery (barbed wire and jungle foliage), Santat expertly sets the stage for the rest of the book to take place in a public restroom. There’s nothing that Santat can’t do, but as soon as the supernatural is involved, his work becomes electrifying. James’s parents ask him to change the baby’s diaper for the first time. The magic begins over dinner at the family’s favorite pizza restaurant.

Ten-year-old James complains about his parents’ awe at his baby brother’s poop and drool, and fantasizes about handing him to a postal worker. This rhyming picture book begins with a typical premise. Forde’s inventive wordsmithing and her instinct for the ridiculous will have kids in stitches.Ī triumph of imagination of a different sort occurs in THE BABY-CHANGING STATION, written by the musician and author Rhett Miller (best known as the lead singer of the band Old 97’s) and illustrated by the Caldecott medalist Dan Santat. He chronicles his total confusion about the customs and rituals of his earthling “host family.” Inadvertently, we gain an intimate view of their life together: the individual relationships, the conflicts (often involving their cat) and eventually the cohesion. Through diary entries and official reports to his home planet, Bumpfizzle cleverly upholds his ruse. (If you are reading this book aloud, I recommend beginning in your best alien voice and then letting it fade as the narrator’s reliability comes into question.) Meet Bumpfizzle the Best, the famous alien warrior from Planet Plonk, who was sent to Earth on a secret mission and assumed the form of a 10-year-old boy named Daniel. A new baby can entrap you in the role of middle child, but imagination can liberate you. Shop Big Brother tees, tank tops, hoodies, and other apparel items to feel like an official Houseguest.BUMPFIZZLE THE BEST ON PLANET EARTH, a chapter book by the Irish author Patricia Forde, confirms that you don’t have to leave home in order to escape. Follow the Big Brother Houseguests as they compete in weekly challenges, avoid eviction, and fight for the $500,000 prize in official Big Brother merch.

You better look sharp when you're in a house with 16 strangers (and a lot of cameras!).

Big Brother's Little Caregiver by Rhett Blue