Geraldine's Baby Brother

With its drolly understated humor, this book offers a fresh, appealing variation on the theme of an older sibling adjusting to a new baby. Of course it helps that the heroine here is the captivatingly strong-willed Geraldine, whose personality is imparted as much through Keller's ( Horace ; Geraldine's Blanket ) winsome watercolors as through her text. From the opening image of Geraldine sitting behind a chair, wearing earmuffs while reading a book called Lizards and Toads , it is clear that the feisty little pig is mightily displeased She is doing her best to ignore her noisy new brother, Willie--on whom the attentions of Geraldine's parents, aunt and uncle are solidly focused. So the independent older sister decides to ignore them , too, and puts herself to bed. In the middle of the night, however, she hears Willie moving around in his basket and takes it upon herself to see that he doesn't start wailing again. How the newborn wins her affection will bring smiles to Geraldine's young fans--and win her some new ones, too. Ages 4-up. (Aug.)