My Brother [Hardcover]

Anthony Browne (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

The boy in this book has a big brother who is good at everything. He’s a wild rock singer and a terrific climber. He’s read hundreds of books, he writes brilliant stories, and he’s brave enough to stand up to bullies. To his adoring younger brother, this big brother is a hero. More than that – he is really cool. He can even whistle!
 
With bright and funny illustrations that will endear these siblings to readers, this is a fantastic follow-up to Anthony Browne’s popular My Dad and My Mom.

 

My Brother is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—"My brother is really cool," boasts a young boy. On widely spaced lined paper, he writes of his older sibling's many attributes. Not only does he have cool ears and hair, but he also wears cool clothes. And he can score "FANTASTIC goals" in soccer, "run so FAST that...he can FLY!," "read HUNDREDS of books," and write "BRILLIANT stories." Browne's over-the-top, whimsical cartoon illustrations are the perfect foil for this child's exuberant praise of his sibling. Big brother's "cool" button is echoed in the many buttons containing accolades like "SUPER BROTHER!" and "He's GREAT!" on the endpapers. Big brother's artwork is so fine that the wolf he has drawn comes to life and frightens Red Riding Hood off the page. The bubble he blows fills a room, and he reads Browne's My Brother in a chair constructed of books and "cool" sandaled feet. The author's fans will recognize his penchant for gorillas, and they will delight in the self-affirming ending when they turn the page after reading, "And guess what…." Cool!—Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

A little boy introduces his big brother, who looks no more than seven. But to the younger brother, the older one is coolness personified. Big Brother runs fast, kicks soccer goals, skateboards, reads books, sings, dances, whistles, and even stands up to bullies twice his size. Only on the last double-page spread is the young narrator pictured, a smaller look-alike version of his idol, from "cool hair" right down to "cool sandals." Browne, the 2000 winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, takes this universal theme of sibling idolatry and interprets it visually with economy and verve. Clean, colorful images of the boy stand out clearly, usually on white or notebook-paper-blue-striped backgrounds; occasionally they appear within more complex scenes, such as the picture of Big Brother climbing a building while King Kong looks on. Observant children will find plenty of intriguing details in the pictures, and even toddlers will take pleasure in watching this idealized big kid, competent, confident, and cool. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); 1st edition (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374351201
• ISBN-13: 978-0374351205
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,766,271 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars My Brother, May 9, 2007

By 

Kirsten G. Cutler (Santa Rosa, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Brother (Hardcover)

Browne, Anthony, My Brother, Farrar Straus Giroux, 2007

In this new addition to his entertaining series extolling his family members ( My Father; My Mother) the narrator showcases some of the ways that his brother is cool and he ends with a nice dab of self-esteem when he says, I'm cool too!" On the front cover is a picture of the boy who is being admired by his sibling; it also depicts a little circle with the words, "He's cool! (sometimes)" inside. The end papers feature circles with words and phrases like: "My Pal", "Super Brother", "Fab", "Brothers 4 ever!" and the title page sports a "cool" photograph of a young boy, presumably the author's cool brother. A simple affirmation like, "My brother's a SUPER skateboarder," is accompanied by an illustration that shows the brother riding a skateboard upside down; labels point to his "cool kneepads", "cool skateboard" "cool helmet". Another page claims, "He can blow AMAZING bubbles. He's REALLY COOL, my brother" and pictures a very large pink bubble labeled "cool bubble". Bright colors stand out clearly on white lined notebook paper so it resembles a child's creation. On the back cover are the words, What's YOURS (sibling) like?" Teachers may want to encourage their students to imagine their own positive feelings about a sibling or a friend. Share this book with preschoolers - 2nd graders.