But I Wanted a Baby Brother!

But I Wanted a Baby Brother! by Kate Feiffer
Illustrated by Diane Goode
2010

     Oliver had always wanted a baby brother.  When his parents come back from the hospital, they are holding in their arms Oliver's new baby sister. "Oliver tried looking happy" but he knew it was a mistake. Why didn't everyone else notice there had been a mistake?  So Oliver asked his parents "Will I ever get a baby brother?"  Instead of the answer he wanted to hear, Oliver's parents kept mentioning how adorable his baby sister was.  She was cute, "she gurgled...kicked...smiled...and slept...like a baby brother. But sometimes she wore dresses and that was bad."  Her name was Julie, which was cool because Oliver could secretly call her Julian.  Regardless, Oliver decided that the only solution was to find a way to exchange his baby sister for a baby brother.  He tried trading with friends, looking for a baby boy at the playground, even switching her for another baby while at the zoo. But the truth was that no other baby was as sweet, smart, calm or fast as Julie. And now she had even learned to throw a ball.  Oliver had fallen in love with his sister, just in time to find out his mom is having another baby...
     But I Wanted a Baby Brother! is sweet and very funny.  Oliver's adventures and the situations he finds himself in while trying to find a baby brother to trade for Julie are hilarious.  Goode's watercolor illustrations are wonderful and complement the story adding a lot of details and comic tones.  A great book to read aloud and to share with kids expecting a baby sibling.