Picture books celebrating sibling love

Siblings. Best friends one minute, driving each other bonkers the next. While we’re in the month of love, with thanks to Valentine’s Day, why not nurture family love with these heartwarming stories celebrating the very best of sibling relationships.

Stories are a great way to teach children positive ways to behave. While they’re enjoying the storytelling and exploring the pictures, they soak up the messages too. Gather your children and snuggle up with these books that showcase love, friendship and kindness among brothers and sisters. Whether your family matches the ones in the stories or looks a little different, use it as an opportunity to talk about what you’re reading together. We promise, all these books are gems.

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Bluey: Cricket

There’s so much to love about this book – and you don’t even have to like cricket! The story is set at a kid’s birthday party and the dads have promised to play tiggy with the kids after a quick bit of cricket – they’re sure they will quickly bowl Rusty out. But the dads don’t know that Rusty loves cricket, practices all the time and is pretty good at batting. None of the dads can bowl him out. Then it’s time for lunch and one last ball and this is where the magic happens. “Rusty could have smashed it into next week if he wanted to. But instead… he hit his little sister a catch.” Awww. There’s lots of other lovely messages woven through the story, about practicing, persevering and being brave, but it’s the sibling love that will have you reading it again and again. Bluey: Cricket is written by Bluey and published by Puffin.

Runaway Hug

This book is a treasure. It’s bedtime and Lucy requests a hug from mum before seeking out the rest of her family members to pass the hug on to before bed. The story is illustrated with wonderfully real pictures of family life. There’s toys on the floor, washing to fold, squabbling brothers and a mischievous dog. Everyone is busy but pauses what they’re doing to hug Lucy goodnight. It’s a lovely example of one child’s bedtime routine that’s filled with love. The Runaway Hug is written by Nick Bland, illustrated by Freya Blackwood and published by Scholastic.

The Small Blue Dot

A big sister welcomes her baby sibling to the world with all the essential information she thinks they need to know. It’s told from a (wise) child’s point of view, with a bit of second hand wisdom from her grandpa thrown in too. It’s a gorgeous book for children to help read to their younger siblings, perhaps changing some of the words to personalise it to their own thoughts and perspectives, for example: “Mother Nature also made broccoli… but we all make mistakes. Luckily, she made strawberries too.” There’s childlike advice about using your imagination and dancing silly, weaved with more serious messages about sustainability and all people having the same beginning. It’s a terrific book and beautifully illustrated too. This Small Blue Dot is written and illustrated by Zeno Sworder and published by Thames and Hudson.

Jack’s Jumper

This is a gorgeous story that at first appears to be just about a boy and his favourite jumper. The jumper is way too big for Jack but he wears it all the time. Then we discover the jumper belonged to Jack’s much older brother who’s not living at home anymore and is missed very much. Bright, cheerful illustrations show us all the things the brothers used to do together. It’s beautiful and sets a great example for older siblings. There’s a satisfying ending and thoughtfully illustrated endpapers too. Jack’s Jumper is written and illustrated by Sara Acton and published by Walker Books.

When You’re Older

A big brother longs to play with his new baby brother, but settles for telling him about all the wonderfully imaginative adventures they’ll have when he’s older. The illustrations are glorious, with vibrant colours showing the brothers and their dog out boating, camping on a glacier and reading books about dragons under the stars. It sets the scene for the brothers to be best mates – and gives bored big brothers some ideas for imaginative play too. When You’re Older is written by Sofie Laguna, illustrated by Judy Watson and published by Allen and Unwin.