Hooray! It's a new royal baby! by Martha Mumford

Ill. by Ada Grey. Bloomsbury, 2015. ISBN 97814088 65712
(Age: 4-7) Royal family, Children, Siblings, Humour. The third book in the series of stories following the royal offspring born in the United Kingdom, is full of fun and promise just as the other two, with a parallel theme of how an older child will deal with the birth of a sibling.
The palace is in heightened anticipation, the nursery is being readied, with the mobile being hung, the teddies all put in order and the bassinet rocking horse polished. Royal Baby George helps his aunt and uncle hang balloons on the royal gate but he begins to wonder about the New Royal Baby playing with his toys. He is not so sure that he wants someone else playing with his dinosaur and when the New Royal Baby arrives home, George is a little underwhelmed. His mother gives him a goldfish of his very own, but the changes in the New Royal Baby begin to interest him as well. This book gently leads the readers to see just how the two children will get along, underlining the ways they can play together, and the role of the parents in facilitating this. By the end of the book George is happy to play with the New Royal Baby as it is much more interesting than the goldfish. The last few pages will have parents laughing as well.
Boldly illustrated the fun of being parents is very much apparent with a few side issues being gently dealt with. The euphoria of the birth of a royal baby is infectious and this book will be just as popular in Australia as in the UK, along with the other two, Shhh! Don't wake the royal baby, and Happy birthday, royal baby!
Fran Knight