3 – 7 July 2017

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

is Introducing

My Brother Tom

(By Wombat Books, 1 April, 2017)

By
Michelle Worthington
Illustrated by Ann-Marie Finn

About the Book:

Tom was born earlier than expected and had the doctors worried. His big brother wasn’t worried though, he saw angels outside his window and knew everything would be okay. My Brother Tom is a story for older siblings of premature babies to help them make sense of what is happening at a difficult time.

About the Author:

Michelle is an author of children’s books, who is also available for workshops on writing for children, book signings and school readings. Michelle Worthington was born in Brisbane, Queensland and currently works and lives in the Redlands. She enjoys travelling and has spent time studying in France where she lived for a year.  Winner of the 1988 Little Swaggie Award and other Australian poetry competitions, she has been published in numerous Australian and International poetry anthologies. Since a very early age, Michelle has shown a love of words and rhyme, and has always excelled at English and Creative Writing. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from University of Queensland in 1996, Michelle is currently undergoing studies to further her career as a published author and book publisher. Australian publisher, Wombat Books has released her first children’s picture book titled The Bedtime Band. It is the story of what the animals in the Australian bush get up to when children are at home asleep in their beds. Michelle has two sons, Jordan and Cody, who she has read to every day since they were born, as she believes in the importance of fostering a love of books in children. Her books encourage children to use their imagination and dare to dream big. Michelle’s other titles are available at www.michelleworthington.com.

My Review:

My Brother Tom is a a beautifully illustrated picture book that tackles the issue of prematurity from the perspective of an older sibling with the touch of the miraculous.

Tom’s big brother processes that fact that Tom was born to early and must spend time in a humidicrib and long weeks in hospital. The older brother connects with Tom despite the tubes and finds comfort from a startling source that all will be well.

I loved the simple and evocative drawings and the theme of My Brother Tom and the way the book addresses the issues of prematurity. My daughter was born 5 weeks early, weighted 1.9 kg, and was in hospital for 5 long weeks. I remember the hours I spent at the hospital from dawn to midnight to be with my daughter, while my husband worked. I can only imagine the added logistics of an older child in this scenario and the likely confusion and fears they might experience. If anything, the story speeds over some of the challenges and procedures – as well as the joy of the firsts – first time to touch, first time out of the humidicrib, first bath …  Still, this is a book written for young children. It should be a great resource for families with young siblings – to help them understand what is happening.

My Brother Tom is another lovely book from Wombat Books, the award-winning Michelle Worthington and illustrator Ann-Marie Finn.

I would like to thank Wombat Books for a free copy of My Brother Tom in consideration for a fair and honest review.