Inspiring Young Readers

posted on 04 Dec 2025

The Bestest Big Brother, Ever by Ben Mantle

The many joys, trials and tribulations of having a younger sibling are often the subject of picture books. Learning how to share space, time, toys and adult attention with another child can be difficult, even if that younger child is relatively un-demanding. At the age of eight, I was lucky enough to have a long-awaited sister who willingly became a prop in my games, loved playing with me and followed me everywhere with adoring eyes. In contrast, my nine- year-old daughter was very resentful when her little brother was born and took a long time to get used to him. I was keen to share this book with a group of five-year-olds to perhaps get some insight into their own experiences of this family relationship.

This story is clearly from the perspective of the younger child and we get a hint of some potential tensions between the two brothers shown on the front cover. Whilst the smiling boy in red leans in to enthusiastically hug his taller sibling, the reacting body language is stiff with fists clenched and a slightly hostile expression. One boy in my group suggested that their dad might have told him to look after him when he would rather play with his own friends. Another suggested that ‘he was probably always breaking his things like my brother does!’

As the story begins, we learn that the two apparently do everything together and are best friends, but what follows suggests that this isn’t quite true. The lively and detailed illustrations show the two brothers, Nano and Felix playing with trucks, making dens and drawing together on the floor but the older boy is clearly not happy as Nano encroaches into his space and spoils the game, even if this is unintended. He obviously needs his own territory and so tries to hide in what looks like a fabulous tree house. Meanwhile, the younger boy is determined to find him:

‘We can take over the world together.

We are like one person in two bodies.’

When he sees the unwelcoming notice on the door, he looks really upset. We talked about whether Felix was being mean and decided that everyone needs their own space sometimes. A wise girl suggested ‘as long as he plays with him most of the time, they need a break from each other.’ She was pleased to see that this was exactly the advice given by their Mum, but Nano struggles to put it into practice. Nevertheless, he has a good go at playing independently and even plans to build his own improvised tree house using an umbrella, dustbin and various drapes. We enjoyed the illustration that shows him sheltering from the heavy rain as he listens to the rain drops making a noise on the dustbin lid. But when the wind threatens to blow everything away, he calls for help from Felix, who takes no notice at all. Next we see the angry and disappointed side to the little brother – would they ever be friends again? I will leave you to read the story for yourself to see whether they can resolve their differences.

This story will inspire plenty of discussion about family relationships and how brothers and sisters can enjoy their time together. The children in my group went on to draw some interesting pictures about what they liked/ didn’t like about their siblings. Others designed their own tree houses using a range of everyday objects and tried to think about how to make them rain resistant.  

I recommend this thought-provoking picture book published by Walker Books which should be available from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Karen Argent

December 2025