Are you expecting? Are you looking for a picture book for your older child to help them understand what’s going on? “There’s a House Inside My Mommy” is a darling picture book telling the story of a very pregnant mommy and her little boy, told in rhyme, as they prepare for the new baby.
The boy is shown interacting positively with both parents as the first person narrative explains that there’s a house inside his mommy, and his daddy says he used to live there too, but he can’t remember any of that. Daddy then tells the little boy about the house inside Mommy, how it’s like a great big bathtub where the baby can sleep. The baby grows every day, and that’s why Mommy’s tummy gets bigger too.
The boy surmises that there must be a kitchen inside Mommy’s tummy to keep the baby fed, and that the weird things she eats must somehow get to the baby. The book addresses the fact that Mommy feels sleepy and sometimes she feels sick and shows the boy playing quietly so he doesn’t disturb her.
Then he starts making plans for all the things he’d like to teach the baby and all the games he wants to play, showing a good attitude for the new brother or sister. Sometimes he climbs up and talks to the baby, speaking to the stomach and calling it “the tummy telephone.”
Then the baby is born, and it’s a little brother! The boy is shown feeling excited, and expresses that maybe he’d like it if his mommy had another one, too.
I loved this book for the uplifting tone of the story and the way the parents interact with the boy, continuing to show him love and attention even when they are tired, and how the boy is eager to be a big brother. There’s no jealousy modeled, on the contrary. I found this to be a delightful read and think that it could really help your older child emotionally prepare for the birth of your new baby.
(This book was published in 2001 by Albert Whitman and Company, and was illustrated by Vanessa Cabban.)
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