posted on 04 Mar 2024

My Baby Sister is a Diplodocus by Aurore Peti, translated by Daniel Hahn

There are an awful lot of books published about dinosaurs as this subject seems to be of endless fascination to children of all ages. This one is a bit different because it is unashamedly neon pink from cover to cover. It is also about much more than dinosaurs because, as the title suggests, sibling relationships are central to the story.

I really liked the strong colour palette and the message conveyed on the cover that this is going to be a story about a child that enjoys dressing up in an impressive T- Rex onesie and using imagination. My five-year-old grandson wondered if the older child was thinking about making a dinosaur costume for the baby lying on the floor so that she could join in with his game.    

Welcoming a new baby into the family is always thrilling but never quite what an older brother might be expecting. Despite plenty of careful preparation, having one’s cosy world invaded can be a bit of a shock, especially when all the adults are understandably besotted. This child gives her his cuddly elephant, plays her a joyful song on his guitar, and demonstrates the fun of jumping on the bed in his room. We can feel the boy’s excitement as he takes the lead in showing things to the baby but this is tempered by the presence of the very calm, smiley parents who look on with great affection. 

When it is time for bed, the mood shifts a little because he is alone in his bedroom while the baby gets to sleep with the parents. We feel his anxiety when even the cat seems to have abandoned him as he looks from his bed at the open door. My well-adjusted grandson reassured me that they would be checking on him soon in case he was worried! The turn of the page revealed his wisdom because we are shown a happy family breakfast scene with mom breastfeeding.

The mood shifts again when the brother tries to help by offering a cup of milk and has to be restrained by dad. When they go out for a walk, he is told off again because he crashes his bike into the pram and then gets into trouble when he tries to build a tower of bricks on the baby’s head!  Little babies can be a bit boring but he tries hard to include her by surrounding her with toys – she is definitely looking at him by this point so their relationship is promising.

Part of this book’s appeal lies in the interesting design which is most evident on the pages that show an unusual perspective. The two children and their mom are viewed from high above as the boy considers whether he actually likes being a big brother. The next pages show him looking pretty cross as he goes to his bedroom and takes off all his clothes and reinvents himself as a dinosaur. With this persona he is able to express his anger by shouting and kicking his toy, pulling off his bedclothes and creating a big mess. ‘He looks like Max’ commented my grandson in what must surely be a nod to ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak. Once the storm has passed, dad soothes him and he cuddles up with both parents on their bed. 

We both really liked the depiction of his dream where he imagines his baby sister dominating the landscape with plenty of dinosaurs featuring. When he wakes up, everything seems very different and we laughed at how he noticed all kinds of interesting things about her. You will need to read this picture book by one of a new young generation of French illustrators for yourselves to appreciate the strong sibling connection.         

Published by Gecko Press, you will be able to buy this delightful book from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it from you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Strongly recommended.

Karen Argent

March 2024