Module 5 - Julius ~ The Baby of the World

Julius ~ The Baby of the World by Kevin Hankes

Summary - Julius ~ The Baby of the World is a wonderful children's picture book about a young mouse, Lilly, and her coming to grips with the arrival of her new baby brother, Julius. As Lilly deals with the attention, love, and admiration her new brother is receiving she travels through the 'older sibling' process quite unwillingly, until an outsider, Cousin Garland, decides to deride Julius. Lilly's anger over Cousin Garland's slights allows her to realize what a great gift Julius is in her family, and she, at last, becomes a loving older sister.

Impressions - I thought that this was a wonderful book for children of all ages who are dealing with the arrival of new siblings or other issues that impact the lives they once knew. I really enjoyed the pace and reality of the story, with all of the small slights Lilly perceived against her (not allowing her to scream like Julius) and which she inflicted upon him as revenge for the attention he was receiving (not inviting him to her tea parties, etc). The small examples of everything her parents were trying to do to make her feel better were also subtle and realistic enough to add to their impact on the reader, and Lilly's anger at Cousin Garland's was a great representation of the common childhood theme of "I can make fun of my family, but you can't!" In the end, Lilly finally comes to love and accept Julius, and sets the example for readers everywhere. As an older sibling myself, I definitely empathized with Lilly and remember going through the same feelings she had when a new baby arrived. This book was a wonderful lesson on and representation of how it is ok for children to feel the resentment they do in this circumstance, and a great look at how they will move past it (sooner rather than later).

Review - "Again, Henkes uses his gentle humor and his humanoid mice to look at common childhood fears and feelings." Carol Hurst opens her review (1) of Julius ~ The Baby of the World with this wonderfully descriptive and on-point statement, which immediately tells readers of the power and impact of this story. Hurst describes the movement of the story from Lilly's resentment to her fierce defense of Julius in this very positive review and brings readers into the story and offers them the opportunity to further explore Lilly and her family by pointing to other Henkes works, specifically 'Chester's Way'.

Use - This book is an excellent picture book to share with children of all ages, beginning with pre-elementary and continuing through late-childhood. It can be used in school or home settings and can initiate a discussion with children who have recently become siblings or who may soon become older children in a growing family. It would especially be helpful with children who are gaining younger siblings for the first time. Discussion should revolve around how normal Lilly's feelings are, and call out no blame, so as to allow children the opportunity to understand and accept what they are feeling without shame, but can move onto discussions of how accepting and loving Lilly becomes towards Julius in the end and how this is the most positive aspect of the story. All in all, I think children will easily understand and appreciate this story, I know I certainly did!

(1) Hurst, C. O. (2006-2010). Julius, the baby of the world [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.carolhurst.com/title/juliusthebaby.html. Originally in Teaching K-8 Magazine.