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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | JER Ellis | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | JER Ellis | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Waiting for a new baby is hard, and waiting for her to grow up into a playmate is even harder. Luckily Liam's Nana is just downstairs and always ready to help. When the two of them build a Get-Older-Faster Machine, Liam is surprised to find it's not Sophie who does the most growing up.
Waiting is hard. Liam waited through half of kindergarten for his baby sister to be born. Then, when little Sophie finally comes home, he discovers she won't be ready to play with him for a long, long time. As the months pass, everyone says that Liam is Sophie's favourite. He is the best at making her laugh and burp, but laughing and burping are not enough for Liam. With the help of Nana-Downstairs, he designs and builds a Get Older Faster Machine. It doesn't seem to work on Sophie, but maybe Sophie is not the only one doing some growing up.
In Waiting for Sophie , multi-award-winning author Sarah Ellis, known for her winsome way with words, introduces a warm, funny, down-to-earth family gracefully navigating a time of change together. Illustrator Carmen Mok renders them sweetly in approachable color illustrations.
Appealingly packaged in a hardcover book with a reinforced binding, Liam's trials, mishaps, and triumphs will speak to young readers who are making the transition to chapter books.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Liam is excited about his new baby sister when his parents first bring her home, but after three whole weeks, he is bored with Sophie's burping, crying, and throwing up. When is she going to start talking and playing and growing up? Waiting is hard for Liam. Fortunately, he has his Nana-Downstairs, who is willing to help him build a "Grow Older Faster" machine. When all is said and done, the GOF does not appear to make his sister age any faster, but it does seem to help Liam grow a bit and learn some new skills in the process. This early chapter book offers a relatable story for intermediate readers, who will empathize with the frustrations of waiting for a younger sibling to become old enough to be a playmate. Cartoonish character illustrations on most pages enhance the text. VERDICT A sweet and tender addition for libraries looking for more new -sibling materials or titles about patience.-Jessica Marie, Salem Public Library, OR © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The arrival of a new baby sibling conjures mixed emotions for a boy named Liam in this sweet and relatable story from Ellis (Ben Says Goodbye), set over four chapters. At home with his grandmother, Liam waits all day and night for his parents to return with Baby Sophie, but after they finally arrive, it turns out that the waiting has just begun: "Burping and crying and diapers and a little bit of throwing up was getting boring. It was time for Sophie to learn more things." Mok's warm digital illustrations tenderly depict Liam's moments of adjustment, as well as the relationship between a perceptive grandmother and her not-so-patient grandson. Ages 5-8. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
[Books by Horn Book reviewers are not reviewed; we provide notice of publication and descriptive comment.] Liam is impatient for baby sister Sophie to get older so she can be a playmate. With super-supportive and handy Nana-Downstairss help, he builds a Get Older Faster machine to help that process along--but finds that hes the one who does the most growing up. Realistic digital illustrations support the text on just about every page of Elliss first early chapter book. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Waiting for a little sister to be born and then waiting for her to grow up can be trying, but it eventually has its rewards.As the book starts, Liam, a white kindergartner, is being woken up by his Nana-Downstairs "Big news. Baby Sophie is on her way. Mom and Dad went to the hospital." Finally, after waiting through half of kindergarten and through Liam's birthday, Sophie is on her way. It turns out even being born takes time. And then when Sophie comes home it is just "burping and crying and diapers and a little bit of throwing up." It is all very boring. Liam turns to Nana-Downstairswith whom he has a very warm and close relationshipfor help. Together they build a Get Older Faster machine. But will it work? And what will Liam learn from the experiment? Nana-Downstairs sets the tone for this down-to-earth, sweet, but never mushy story. The accompanying illustrations have a simple, gentle quality that neatly matches the story. The hand-printing-style type used for the text also complements the story and is easy for readers entering the world of early chapter books to decode. Warmth and quiet humor capture the realities of a new baby in the house. (Fiction. 5-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.