Lilly Babysits Her Brother by Brenda Bellingham, Illustrated by Clarke MacDonald

Publisher: Formac Publishing
Series: First Novels
Format Read: ePub
Source: The publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: October 18, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository*
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Blurb from goodreads:

Lilly is finally old enough to babysit her brother Mac for the day, and she's thrilled because she gets to use her mom's smartphone! It's gearing up to be an exciting day -- until the hyper-allergic Mac discovers a dead bird. Lilly has to do her best to keep Mac safe and happy without ruffling anyone's feathers.

Bea's Thoughts:

The title is slightly misleading as only the first half of the book is about Lilly babysitting her and not and the first few pages of that are intro. (Yes, even when I was a young reader, I got cranky over misleading titles.)  However, what happens during the time she babysits impacts events in the second half of the book.

There were several things I really liked about the story: the casual way that technology and different families were worked into the story - they were no big deal, just a fact of life; the vocabulary was simple but the story wasn't condescending; the repetition of words, which helps build both vocabulary and comprehension; and how relatable the story is for many American (and others too) children.

That relatability will appeal to young readers and draw them in; they can certainly relate to the thrill and excitement of being old enough to do something so responsible. The layout of the book isn't busy and the story's vocabulary and repetition will be easy enough not to frustrate readers.

The artwork was a little too simple, some readers may find it boring or skip over it and, at least in my e-galley, it seemed as if the artwork was chopped off. I wish a little more explanation had been given about Mac's allergies. I was confused as to the presumption that because Mac was allergic to animals with fur that he would be allergic to ones with feathers. However I doubt that will bother most kids.

"Lilly Babysits Her Brother" is a tale of family and responsibilities that some young readers will find enjoyable.