My Little Big Brother

On the Planet Zanduga, the usual conventions are turned on their head. The narrator’s much-loved big brother, who is 10-years-old, is smaller than him – small enough to retrieve a lost toy from an air vent in the house, although still responsible enough to help his younger brother across the school crosswalk.

But, sometimes I wish that my little big brother wasn’t so little.
When I run around the house. I have to be careful where I step.
When we play hide-and-go-seek, my little big brother always wins.

On the other hand, baby brother is a giant whose oversized diapers pose a stinky problem.

This self-published work by Manitoban Richard Nelson is one of three picturebooks the author makes available to on-line customers. The story, such as it is, consists of a setup – the strangely differing sizes of the three boys – without a punchline. This single idea doesn’t really take us anywhere, although the tone is genial throughout.

Colourful illustrations by A. Yustiadi depict three endearing children engaged in everyday activities, with the images framed to look as if they are being taken with a camcorder. Cheerful Mom observes from the sidelines while going about her chores. The text appears in a large informal typeface, with the white lettering standing out on uniformly dark fields. (However, the fact they these are Zandugians does not seem to mean that the characters look any different from Earthlings.)

Libraries and schools can take a pass on this thin offering.