Waiting for Max: A NICU Story

Big sister Louise hatches a variety of plans to see her infant brother home from the adults-only NICU in this hopeful family story. Even text and dialogue from Rosen, making a picture book debut, touch on the reality of the hospital stay, emphasizing the wait that the pale-skinned family undergoes until baby Max becomes “big and strong enough” to head home. In unlined renderings that lean into blues and pinks, illustrations by Diana (The First Noel) provide a glimpse of Max’s medical surroundings as Louise’s parents show the child numerous photos and videos of the baby, which in turn prompt the protagonist’s ideas for ways to speed his arrival home. Noticing the feeding tube in Max’s nose, big sis creates a drawing of her brother using the tube to escape out a window; hearing the “Beep. Beep. Beep” of hospital monitors inspires artistic visions of the newborn’s “little plastic box” as a spaceship. The motivating artwork continues as Max progresses to bottle-feeding, and Louise happily takes the credit when her sibling finally appears in his bassinet—a forward-looking moment that’s emblematic of the book’s optimistic tone. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)