very cute! Loved the illustrations.

Love how this connected to the Lilly books

Cute illustrations, relied on overused tropes. Lily was a brat.

Julius, the Baby of the World is one of the many titles in Henkes’ mouse books. In this story, Lilly’s mother has just given birth to a baby boy upon whom the parents dote. Being forced to share the spot light, Lilly is terribly jealous and does everything in her power to be disagreeable. Thwarting all of her parents’ attempts to win her over, Lilly continues to spite baby Julius until he comes under criticism from Cousin Garland at which point Lilly proves that she understands the significance of the old adage that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Henkes employs watercolor and ink to render an expressive Lilly who runs the gamut from hateful to loving and conveys her emotions through effusive eyes and a bristling tail that complement and extend the text. At the secondary level, Julius, the Baby of the World could serve as an easily accessible exemplar of dynamic characterization and the characteristics of the hero cycle explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.

This picture book is cute and colorful, with well-crafted text and vivid watercolor art, but I don't like the focus on Lilly's contempt for her younger brother. It's natural and understandable for siblings to resent a new arrival, and Lilly comes around in the end, but the repeated use of the word "hate" and vivid depictions of her disliking the baby went on too long, in my opinion.

This can be humorous for some children, but it seems to me that it is best to read in retrospect, looking back on one's first experience with a new sibling. I would not want to read this to a child who was expecting a new sibling soon, or was trying to adjust to one, because it seems to set them up for trouble, and encourage them to treat others in a disrespectful way. I can see how this book could be a therapeutic experience for a child who is afraid of their real feelings, can't express their frustrations, and needs to see big sibling angst expressed in a dramatic way in order to process their own struggles, but that is the only circumstance that would inspire me to share this book with a kid.

The story is supposed to be realistic and cute, but it just seemed harsh to me. I can see how Henkes was simply presenting a situation, not affirming it, but there are so many negative implications to Lilly's behavior that this isn't something I would want to normalize or model for children. It's important for older siblings to be emotionally honest and acknowledge their true feelings, but the hatred and nastiness in this book is far too much for me.

February 2019 - I'll admit that as much as I love Henkes' mouse books, I had a moment of hesitation - would this encourage Ben to say negative things about the baby? Because I definitely have patrons at the library who refuse anything that would give their kids "bad" things to say. But Ben thinks it's hilarious (especially "if he was a food, he would be a raisin...a raisin tastes like dirt") and the only result has been LOTS of "Eleanor is the baby of the world!" I think when it comes down to it, kids really delight in seeing all those negative feelings brought out into the light, and it feels good to see a book character being "bad." Delightful.

Another cute mouse story!

Recommended by my daughter.

http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/2015/comments_12/julius_the_baby_of_the_world.html

Kevin Henkes is probably my favorite children's book author. I read all of his books over and over to my children.