November is National Prematurity Awareness Month, a time when many people and organizations focus on preterm birth and the families that it touches, but
amidst all this focus, one important individual is often forgotten: the older sibling of a premature child.
Just ask Natalie, the big sister in "Evan Early" by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn (Woodbine House, 2006). We learn from her charming observations that prematurity not only effects parents and their new child, but the older siblings waiting at home as well.
Natalie is very excited. She has a new brother, Evan Earl. “But he doesn’t live with us, not yet,” she says. “Evan Earl was Evan Earl-y and was born too soon.” Natalie’s not sure when he will get to come home, but every day she colors in a block on the calendar, knowing she’s one day closer to her brother coming home. She is going to teach him about everything.
Natalie goes to see Evan Early at the NICU. She is a little nervous in the big, busy hospital, so her dad squeezes her hand two times to say I love you. There are lots of nurses and tiny babies in boxes called isolettes. She scrubs her hands and puts on a “funny looking” polka-dot gown to make sure she doesn’t take any germs to Evan Early.
She is curious about her brother and the NICU. What are the tubes around him? How does he eat? Why do the nurses weigh his diapers? Days turn into weeks, and Natalie’s calendar begins to look “like a little patchwork quilt.”
Some days she colors in bright, happy colors like “strawberry red” when she gets to feed Evan Early his first bottle. Other days she colors in dark, sad colors like “shadowy gray” or “muddy brown” when Evan Early is not doing well or his
doctors frown.
Natalie tries to understand, but when Evan Early takes a turn for the worse and her parents spend three days at the hospital, she gets scared and worried. Is her brother going to be okay? Have her parents forgotten about her? Isn’t she special anymore?
After getting angry and blowing up, Natalie realizes that she is just sad. Evan Early doesn’t get to cuddle at home, and she hasn’t been able to teach him anything. No one is sure when Evan Early will come home, so Natalie decides to start teaching him about their family in the hospital, and she begins by squeezing his hands two times to say I love you.
A topic book such as this one could very easily feel dense and cold to a child, but "Evan Early" avoids this trap with authentic imagery and a storybook tone. The story is told from the point of view of a child, but the descriptions presented are very accurate. The fact that we leave Evan while he is still in the hospital only adds to the realism of Natalie’s tale; with premature babies there are many possible outcomes.
The Question & Answer section in the back is a plus to an already perfect tool for bridging the relationship between an older child and his or her premature sibling. While recommended for ages 3-7, the Q & A section in the back would be a useful jumping off spot for discussion with siblings of any age.
For more information on prematurity awareness and resources, visit MarchofDimes.com.
*All books that are reviwed are borrowed from the library or purchased by family and friends. I receive no compensation from authors or publishers for book reviews.
You are right, mr. average.
You are right, mr. average. There are not a lot of books out there like this one. The author actually wrote it after a good friend had a preemie, and as a children's librarian, she wanted to get a book to help her friend's older son understand what was going on. She could not find one, so she wrote one instead.
My second child was a preemie, so I knew when I found this book that I had to get the word out about it. As someone who went through this, I can testify to the authenticity of the little book.
Admittedly, I haven't read