The Baby of the World, Julius

I really like Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and I also love other books by Kevin Henkes. But my husband and I agreed that Lilly comes across as too harsh and bratty in this book. I don't like exposing my four-year-old to Lilly's cruel comments towards her brother. I don't want him to view her behavior as acceptable and humorous for fear that he will try it out on his younger sister.

Mrs. Shenkir's 2nd grade class Book Review
We read this book together today during class. We fell in love with Lilly's personality in the book. It reminded us of how we felt we had new siblings come into our lives. The story is about Lilly (the older sister) and Julius (her new baby brother). Kevin Henkes tells the side from Lilly's point of view of how her life changes with a new sibling. We could really relate to this book.

Our favorite part is the ending when she tells Cousin Garland that he should kiss Julius.
We strongly recommend this book to anyone who is about to have a younger sibling come into their life.

After reading and falling in love with Henkes' other books (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Chrysanthemum, etc.) I expected to love this one as well. The other negative reviewers aren't being overly-sensitive. This book is AWFUL. The things the older sister whispers into her little brother's crib are downright horrifying. This book goes beyond simply showing the reality of childhood cruelty into the realm of normalizing sick and disturbed hatred. I started reading this book to the 4 year old boy that I nanny for and had to stop in the middle of it. He has two older sisters and the thought that he would assume this is what his sisters thought about him when he was born breaks my heart. Do your family a favor and do not buy this book, spend your time reading his other fabulous books instead.

Having a baby can be a difficult and unwelcome change for an older sibling. As a parent, you may be looking for a book to share with big bro or big sis to ease that transition. You might even be thinking of this book. Don't.

Lilly is the most horrid manifestation of jealousy that I have seen this side of Othello. Even in the realm of children's literature, she is exponentially more mean-spirited than Cinderella's sisters.

The refrain of "I hate Julius" is repeated often and with sustained vigor throughout the book. Lilly channels Linda Blair in her efforts to sabotage the family's happiness and threaten her new brother's existence. When no one is looking, she leans into his crib and verbally abuses him. "I hate you. You're ugly."

She intentionally mixes up numbers and letters in an attempt to derail his learning. She tries to frighten him. She ignores his cries for help.

"Disgusting." "Disgusting." "Disgusting."

Bad gets worse. Lilly fantasizes about physically harming the baby. She sticks pins in a baby mouse Voodoo doll. She draws a dead "imposter baby." She even accosts pregnant strangers.

Sibling rivalry exists, of course. And many would-be siblings experience fears of reduced attention or love. But this book glorifies cruelty, yet fails to teach any real lesson. The high (low) point of Lilly's near pathological behavior is when she tells her baby brother a story:

==Once upon a time, there was a baby.
His name was Julius.
Julius was really a germ.
Julius was like dust under your bed.
If he was a number, he would be zero.
If he was a food, he would be a raisin.
Zero is nothing.
A raisin tastes like dirt.
The End.==

That is some serious share-it-with-the-shrink evidence right there.

I've read a lot of children's books, and I've spent a lot of time around children. The vast majority of kids--even the ones going through difficult situations at home--are not this hurtful. The ones who *are* should probably receive early intervention so they can be made into productive members of society instead of gaining early admission to the nearest juvenile detention center.

Julius, the Baby of the World is one of the two worst books I have had the misfortune to read this year. It shares that dubious honor with the creeptastic Love You Forever. Steer clear of both and you will thank me, even if it means less overtime for the school psychologist.

Thank goodness this was just a library book.

Zero stars.

I purchased this book to use for a vocabulary lesson for my first grade students. The story itself is very cute. It is about a girl who gets a baby brother and doesn't understand why he gets all the attention. This would be great to get for a child who is about to become a first time sibling or loose their youngest in the family position. All Kevin Henkes books are perfect for vocabulary lessons, he typically uses the same style of writing throughout his books. Students love the stories and pictures. I would say every teacher should have a copy in their personal library!