LOLA READS TO LEO

Bibliophile Lola has no trouble adjusting to her role as big sister in this warm slice-of-life story about a little girl welcoming her new baby brother.

While many new baby books are dominated by an older sibling’s jealousy over an attention-hogging infant, Lola delights in Leo’s arrival. Prior titles about this book-loving child (Lola Loves Stories, 2010, and Lola at the Library, 2006) set the stage for how she engages with Leo—through books, of course. She brings him a “soft book for his crib” when she meets him at the hospital, reads to him when he cries “to cheer him up” and shares theme-appropriate titles during diaper changes (a potty book), baths (a duck story) and naptime (a sleepy story). Although busy adjusting to parenting two children instead of just one, Lola’s mother and father reward her with a story at the end of each day since she is “the best big sister of all.” It’s refreshing to see this time-worn theme addressed in a story that just happens to be about a family comprised of people of color, as warm, acrylic portraits depict mother, father, Lola and Leo as a book-loving, close-knit joyful crew.

A welcome edition about a welcome addition