And J.J. Slept

The story about a new baby arriving into a very busy household, And J.J. Slept by Loretta Grabutt and Erika Rodriguez Medina is a loving story about family.

When J.J. arrives at his adoptive home, he is greeted by so many different sounds. His four siblings and Harvey the dog are all so excited to meet him and, as you can imagine, are always quite noisy but that doesn’t bother J.J., he sleeps right through it. The problem is when the house is quiet, J.J. is inconsolable. He loves his siblings so much and can only settle when their noise and activity embrace him with love.

Loretta Garbutt has written a story full of immense sibling love. It’s so exciting to have a new baby sibling and I loved the added detail about J.J. being adopted. It’s the first picture book I can remember that has that added layer of love. I know many people who were adopted and have a friend currently in the final stages of adopting their new child so what a lovely gift to give a new family that has welcomed a new member through the adoptive process. Ultimately, this is a story of love and safety. J.J. can only sleep when the house is alive with the sounds of his siblings. That love wraps him in a feeling of safety, love and protection. Plus, for any busy household, it’s a great story about this chaotic life.

Erika Rodriguez Medina’s illustrations are fantastic. You can feel the energy of the family lift up off the pages through her art work. Anyone who has a big family will instantly recognize similarities between JJ's family and their own.