Is there a new little one on the way to your house? Do you know someone who has just had a baby? If that baby has older siblings, this might be a great gift to help deal with sibling rivalry.
Tommy has a wonderful mother and father, and a great dog named Muffin. But one day, a new baby came to live with them. Her name was Wendy, and she stayed for a really long time! That was confusing. He didn’t understand why she was bald, either. And he really didn’t want to help take care of her.
Tommy had a great idea, and he told Muffin all about it. If they got some fairy dust, and sprinkled it on Baby Wendy, she’d fly away just like Wendy in Peter Pan!
Tommy went to the kitchen and made a mixture of flour, cocoa powder and sugar. He sprinkled it on the baby, but she woke up and started to cry. When his mother asked Tommy what he was doing, he explains that he just wants things to be the way they were before.
Granny calls – she won’t be able to come for a visit, and she’s really sad about that because she wants to see how much Wendy has grown. This gives Tommy an idea – he’ll mail Wendy to Granny! But when he tries to put Wendy in a box, she starts to cry again. His father is very angry – and now both parents are mad at Tommy. He doesn’t understand why – all he wants is for things to be the same.
But then he hears Wendy crying, and crying, and crying. She doesn’t stop! Tommy goes to investigate and finds her in the crib, all alone. Feeling sorry for her, Tommy talks to her, and she stops crying! Feeling a sudden sense of responsibility, Tommy realizes that Wendy will need his help in this world too, and he doesn’t even notice Mommy and Daddy hiding in the closet, waiting for him to make this connection.
This is a cute story – I just hope it doesn’t inspire your children to try to mail any babies at your house!
(This book was published in 1999 by North-South Books and was illustrated by Christa Unzner.)
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