When You're Older by Sofie Laguna illustrated by Judy Watson

 

"Baby brother, all you do is sleep and drink milk. Mama says I have to wait until you're older."

"When you're older ... "

• we will ride our bikes through the jungle (there might snakes)
• we'll hide in a cave with bats!
• we will build castles on the seashore
• read books about dragons, crowns, and swords
• then we will climb aboard a boat and sail the high seas - who knows where we might end up or what dangers we will face - but if there is any danger I will save you. (we are sure to see whales and eventually reach the artic circle).

There are some very special book design features to notice when you pick up this book. The way the cover stretches front and back, the way the colours of the older brother’s cloak are repeated on his wooden blocks, and looking closely you will see small objects which allow reader to anticipate or later reflect on the story such as the paper boat, the galleon seen in the painting and the sword. 

Then we turn to the half title page which shows the boy making his cloak and crown. On the title page he marches into action. This is a boy with a well-developed imagination (perhaps he has a mum and dad who read to him). The repeated refrain helps maintain the momentum of the story. 

Sofie Laguna includes a rich vocabulary with words such as turrets; spurting; binoculars; churning. The variety of landscapes add a richness to the story – jungle, beach, arctic and wild ocean waves. And in every illustration the action moves from left to right - like the motion of time moving forward to a time when the baby is indeed older. 

From the endpapers, you get a further glimpse into the wonderful world of this big brother’s imagination. Look for intertextual elements in the endpapers – Peter Pan and Jungle Book. You are sure to also think of Elmer and Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Scroll down through this blog post by Judy Watson to read more about her design of the end papers. 

The digital collage pieces created by Judy Watson have different textures. As we turn the pages, the colours become murkier adding to a sense of adventure in the outdoor settings the older sibling is imagining. Notice the way the dog has a very flat and plane shape and texture - linking him back to the reality of the opening scene. Other special images to linger over are the water and shimmering ocean, the waterspout of the whales, the white of the glacier and the wild dogs racing across the page. I also love the way the binoculars are used to give a completely different page design. The reader/viewer is given a close up of a seal and a distant lighthouse. You might also go back and find the repeated patchwork quilt and see how it is used in many of the scenes.

After reading this book go back and look even more closely for the important details - the dog’s collar changes colour to show the changes in time and humorous elements such as the crabs pinching the chips as the boys scare the seagulls away. And the washing hanging on the clothesline while the Inuit family cook their meal. There's also a hint of the Northern Lights.  

This book would be a wonderful gift when a family are expecting a new sibling - gift this to a big brother before his own new baby brother arrives. Sofie Laguna wrote this book for her own sons.

When you're older was a 2023 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Notable Picture Book.

As he watches his baby brother sleep, the little boy begins to dream with his eyes open as he imagines the adventures that the two will have together “when you’re older’.  From riding their bikes through a jungle whose branches are festooned with snakes to being marooned in Arctic wastes, they will have the most magnificent adventures together… each bigger and better and more daring than the last. And each having them side by side through thick and thin. The Bottom Shelf