Waiting for Baby

Author: Harriet Ziefert
Illustrator: Emily Bolam
Title: Waiting for Baby
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1998
Genre: Books to Begin On (Relationships)
Number of pages: 32
Reading Level (Lexile): 270L
I found this book in children’s fiction section of the library.
Plot Summary: Max’s Mom is getting closer and closer to having their new baby. Max talks to the baby each day, growing more and more frustrated that he or she is not coming out. Since his tactics aren’t working, he decides to go about his days like the baby is not coming at all. He plays with his dad and mom and bakes cookies with Grandma. Finally, overnight the baby is born and dad takes him to meet his new baby sister.

This book relates to my theme of relationships because a new member is coming into Max’s family. Although he hasn’t met the baby yet, Max is already wondering about him/her.

While reading Waiting for Baby, I immediately connected with Max. I have two younger brothers. I was only 2 years old when my first brother was born and don’t remember anything. I was 7 when my youngest brother was born. I remember being very excited, just like Max. I also remember my Grandma coming to visit, just as Max’s Grandma came. She took me to the hospital after he was born to meet him. I had the same excitement Max did when I found out the baby was finally born!

This book is great to read to emergent readers. It would be appropriate for children that are going to have a sibling in the near future. Max goes through different emotions, which can be typical for children in his situation. Waiting for Baby would be appropriate for children ages 1-7 and up to about 2nd grade. For younger children, this book would be good to read aloud to them. For beginning readers, the print is big and interesting to read (on some pages the words swirl around!). This book’s text and pictures are predictable and fun to read for students.

I could see this book being used in the classroom for various reasons. If you are teaching a theme on families, friendships, or relationships, this book would be another piece of literature that you could use. It would be a great resource to use if you have a student whose parent is expecting a new baby. They may be able to relate to the different emotions Max has as they change throughout the book. Waiting for Baby could also be used with younger students as a fun read aloud, having them repeat or read certain sections. There is a part of the book where the pages are shorter for each day of the week. The students would probably get excited to read what is on each smaller part of the book. The students may be interested in reading the book or looking through the pages on their own after you read it to them.