Stories for Growing
Cover of There's Going to Be a BabyAges 3 to 6
Handling big feelings

There's Going to Be a Baby

John Burningham, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Ages 3 to 6
About this age guidance

Kirkus: 2-6; SLJ: PreS-Gr 1

The age tag follows Review age ranges. Other sources may suggest different ages. This is audience guidance, not an independent reading level.

Reviews it as a story about a long wait for a new baby.

Mother announces the baby is due in the fall; the boy starts asking when it's coming and what it will do. When mother suggests the baby might work at a zoo, the boy says it might get eaten by a tiger; his replies undercut her hopeful visions. He worries the baby will make a mess and wonders whether they really need one. He moves from anxiety toward curiosity, seeing the baby as a possible playmate. Grandad takes the boy, carrying gifts and flowers, to the hospital to meet the new baby. Final image of boy and grandfather heading down the hospital corridor.

Good forWaiting

Recommended by ReadPlus

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What children see in the story

Mother announces the baby is due in the fall; the boy starts asking when it's coming and what it will do. He moves from anxiety toward curiosity, seeing the baby as a possible playmate.

Why it’s on these shelves

Handling big feelings
A boy waits all year for the new baby, asking when it will come and what it will do. His worries turn to curiosity, and Grandad takes him to the hospital to meet the baby.

Why pick it up?

John Burningham and Helen Oxenbury show the wait season by season, with the boy's daydreams in comic strips.

A note for parents

The boy says some blunt things about the baby, including that a tiger might eat it and that they don't really need one. It's honest and comic, and it gives a child room for mixed feelings, but parents should expect those lines. Long (48 pages) with dry humor that suits 4-7 better than very young 3s. The pregnancy runs through the seasons, which helps a child picture how long the wait is.

Where this recommendation comes from

ReadPlus

Reviews it as a story about a long wait for a new baby.

Read ReadPlus’s recommendation
Sources and review status

We checked professional reviews and parent or educator accounts of the story, including how it ends. We have not personally read the full book.

Publisher or literacy resource · Original recommendation

Our explanation of the value fit is separate from the original reviewer’s judgment. Their inclusion here does not imply an endorsement of Stories for Growing.

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