Julius, the Baby of the World [Library Binding]

Kevin Henkes (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up

The riotously funny Lilly, last seen in Chester's Way (Greenwillow), thinks her new baby brother, Julius, is disgusting -- if he was a number, he would be zero. But when Cousin Garland dares to criticize Julius, Lilly bullies her into loudly admiring Julius as the baby of the world.Lilly knows her baby brother is nothing but dreadful -- until she claims him for her own. "Henkes displays a deep understanding of sibling rivalry and a child's fragile self-esteem....Lilly is a superb and timely heroine." -- Publishers Weekly. "

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For children who are facing the arrival of a new sibling, Julius, the Baby of the World makes for great biblio-therapy. At first, big sister Lilly thought it might be fun to have a new baby in the family. But when her parents repeatedly coo, "Julius is the baby of world," Lilly's mouse hackles begin to rise. Soon the jealousy is too much for her, and she embarks on a rejection campaign that is hysterically funny, but also comforting for siblings who probably feel just as much resentment but would never go to Lilly's extremes. Kevin Henkes, creator of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse refuses to shy away from the truly powerful and sometimes dark feelings of children. Through bright watercolors and handwritten, cartoon-style dialogue, Henkes relishes Lilly's wickedness. For example, she delights in insulting her oblivious baby brother: "If you were a food, you'd be a raisin," she whispers into his crib. "If you were a number you'd be zero." When she paints an elaborate family portrait, she leaves Julius out. When she throws a tea party, guess which baby doesn't get an invitation? But when a visiting cousin starts insulting baby Julius, we discover that the flip side of Lilly's intense jealousy is an even more powerful and lasting loyalty. ALA Notable Book, ALA Booklist Children's Editors' Choice, Horn Book Fanfare Honor List, Parent's Choice Honor for Literature. (Baby to Preschool) --Gail Hudson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Lilly, the spunky white mouse who first appeared in the memorable Chester's Way , now stars in a book of her own. Before baby Julius is born, Lilly is an exemplary sister, setting aside toys for the baby and talking to him through her mother's belly. But once Julius arrives, Lilly has a hard time controlling her jealousy. The fact that her parents dote on the new infant, "kissing his wet pink nose, admiring his small black eyes and stroking his sweet white fur," doesn't help matters. "Julius is the baby of the world," croon Lilly's parents. "Disgusting," comments Lilly. Lilly tries to sabotage her parents' early efforts at the baby's education by teaching him her own letter and number sequences: "3, 8, 1, 5, 9, 6, A, J, K, Z, B." However, big sister's protective feelings are aroused when a snooty cousin displays the same disdain that Lilly has felt for the baby. Henkes displays a deep understanding of sibling rivalry and a child's fragile self-esteem. With her gold paper crown and red cowboy boots, Lilly is a superb and timely heroine. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (September 24, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688089445
• ISBN-13: 978-0688089443
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,993,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Henkes is the creator of many distinguished books for children, including Kitten's First Full Moon (winner of the Caldecott Medal), Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, and Chrysanthemum. His novels for young people include Olive's Ocean (a Newbery Honor Book) and Bird Lake Moon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very realistic, June 15, 2009

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Julius, the Baby of the World (Paperback)

Lilly, like many children, finds her baby brother doesn't live up to the pre-birth hype. He steals attention from her is what he does.

And she expresses this the way many children do - she uses her words. People claiming that their children never, ever, EVER use words like "hate" or "ugly" or "disgusting" either don't have four year olds (Lilly's approximate age), have blocked that age from their memory, are lying, are lying to THEMSELVES, or have the sweetest, nicest, most wonderful children in existence.

The rest of us live in the real world where four is the age of the potty mouth. Gosh, if I go through a day without hearing "I'm NEVER gonna be your SISTER ever AGAIN" and "I hate you, you're MEAN!" and "You're UGLY and MEAN and I'm gonna PEE ON YOU!" I start feeling foreheads! And of course my two nieces love each other very much (heaven forbid I put one in time-out for antagonizing her sister, it's the other one who whines and tries to convince me it's unnecessary and sneaks around to hand out hugs behind my back!), but like all young children they have big emotions and limited means of expressing them. (Really, I'm just happy they use their words instead of their hands.)

And of course they didn't pick up the words "hate" and "ugly" and "disgusting" from the book, they picked it up from other children and from us - who doesn't say, when they burn their toast for the third time in a row, "Ugh, I hate burned toast"? Who doesn't say, when their kid picks their nose at the table, "Ugh, that's disgusting, go wash off and don't do it again"? Who doesn't say, when they find a bug in the house, "Hey, an ugly bug! Let's put it outside!"? (Who really wants to limit their child's vocabulary and leave them hopeless when they start school?)

So yes, this is a very realistic book. And the resolution - banding together to protect her brother from an outsider - is pretty realistic too, the surplus of mice notwithstanding. I definitely recommend it for any child in the suggested age range of 4 - 8.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want children to love literature read them this book!, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Julius, the Baby of the World (Library Binding)

Kevin Henkes has written some wonderful books but Juilus steals my passion for reading. Everytime I read this story and act out Lilly's intolerable personality towards her baby brother Julius my students go wild. They especially love the part when Lilly is bending over the crib telling Julius the wrong order of the ABC's and 123's. I plan on buying all of Kevin Henkes books. I already have Chester's Way, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Shelia Rae the Brave, Chrysanthemum, A Weekend With Wendell, and Jessica. He is a great author and his books exhibit his talent.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book for children and adults., August 30, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Julius, the Baby of the World (Paperback)

My entire family absolutely loves this book. It is a great read-aloud story that children happily listen to time after time. We call it "Max, the Baby of the World," after my youngest child. I bought extra copies and passed them on to relatives who have gone on to do the same. It is a timeless story of sibling rivalry and love.