by Alyssa from The Kids Book Hunter
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There are so many books that my children adore and so many books that I adore reading to them, so to narrow it down to one was rather difficult.
But there is one book that came into our lives at the perfect time, one that is regularly requested and one that holds special memories and meaning for my little reader, and that book is The Swap written by Jane Ormerod and illustrated by Andrew Joyner.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, here is little rundown:
Caroline Crocodile has a baby brother. A baby brother who according to her is too dribbly, too smelly and no fun! But worst of all, he is constantly fawned over by their mother and he takes ups all of the room on her lap. As a result, Caroline feel jealous and resentful towards her baby brother.
That is until one day when Caroline’s mum has to return a hat to the store, stating that it is because it isn’t exactly what she wanted. This gives Caroline the perfect idea! She will go to the baby store and swap her brother for one that is just right. However, after trying out a few new brothers (of varying species), Caroline realises that maybe her own brother might not be so bad.
I first read this story to my son when I was pregnant with his baby brother. We both really enjoyed it and had a little giggle when each swap didn’t quite go to plan. But it wasn’t until our new baby was here and the home dynamic began to change that this book took on a whole new meaning and personal connection. Not only was the jealousy relatable, but so was the love felt towards his little brother. So upon hearing for the first time “I would never want to swap my baby because he is perfect,” it made my mumma heart swell (although I’m certain there are times when he too would like to swap his baby brother for something different).
To make this book extra special we were fortunate enough to get it signed by Andrew Joyner, who even added in a little crocodile sketch with the personal message at the front.
The Swap by Jane Ormerod and Andrew Joyner was the 2014 CBCA Book of the Year for Early Childhood and is just a really lovely and relatable read!
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