The baby-changing station by Rhett Miller, illustrated by Dan Santat

I'm generally not a fan of celebrities writing children's books, but if they happen to actually be good at it, my lack of knowledge of pop culture usually precludes me from realizing they are a celebrity at all. All of which is to say, Rhett Miller is apparently a musician, but I only know him as the author of a genuinely funny and somewhat subversive collection of poetry, No More Poems! In this book he teams up with Dan Santat again for a rhyming story of a reluctant older sibling and his stinky baby brother.

Ten year old James, a white kid with green hair, sticking out ears, and a frustrated expression, is not too happy about the arrival of a baby brother, Joe. In bouncing rhythms, he retails the unfairness and dislike that led up to... the incident. Arriving at the "Magical Pan" for family pizza night, his exhausted parents nominate him for diaper duty and he glumly hauls stinky baby Joe into the restroom and onto the changing table.

But this is no ordinary changing table - suddenly he is confronted by the options to change his baby brother... into something else! But each cool item that appears, from night-vision goggles to matching guitars just makes James think of the fun he'll be able to have with his baby brother when he grows up. The moment arrives and James has to make a decision... will he exchange Joe or keep him and look forward to their relationship?

The endpages are decorated  with goofy instructions for styles of diaper folding and Dan Santat's signature illustrations fill the book, with wild hair colors, and silly but heartfelt images of two brothers - and best friends - having their best life together.

Verdict: Sibling relationships are tricky and vary widely from family to family, but this humorous and heartwarming story will likely appeal to siblings with a big age gap and parents looking hopefully towards a future of friendship for their squabbling kids. It's a little overly sentimental for my personal taste and I don't see it being a good storytime choice, but it will definitely be a hit for my classrooms who like funny, longer picture books to read and share.

ISBN: 9780316459327; Published August 2022 by Little Brown, F&G provided by publisher; Added to order list for the library