How to drive your brother bananas

K-Gr 1--Bradley, a young boy with tan skin, brown hair, and freckles, teaches readers how to drive their brothers wild. His brother, Liam, is made out to be a stereotypical teen, annoyed at having to babysit his little brother. Bradley shows several things that make his brother go "bananas," such as hiding and playing with the television remote or playing hide-and-seek with a few twists. Mischievous actions, like Bradley's tricking Liam by hiding a fake snake in the bed, will be familiar to children with siblings. The book employs a combination of simple and complex sentences but only one or two sentences per page. Illustrations are colorful and detailed, supporting the text and providing aid for early readers to better understand the story. Children will enjoy Bradley just as they adore David Shannon's No, David! VERDICT The high jinks of a younger brother will be enjoyed by children, especially those with siblings.--Anna Kambach

A little sibling's guide to annoying a big brother. Introduced in the creators' early readerHow To Drive Your Sister Crazy (2008), Bradley Harris Pinkerton is now stuck with a less-than-enthusiastic babysitter: older brother Liam. Bradley seems to have decided that negative attention from Liam is better than no attention. Directly addressing readers in a conspiratorial tone, Bradley offers a few tips for driving big brothers bananas: hiding behind the couch and secretly messing with the remote control while your big sib attempts to watch TV, playing tricks during a game of hide-and-seek, and lulling your older brother into a false sense of security with an offering of popcorn…before playing a prank involving underwear. The comic-style illustrations infuse humor into what could otherwise be read as a story of sibling disconnect, with mischief toeing the line of meanness, complete with some references to tighty-whities thrown in for good measure. By book's end, there's no cozy, idealistic resolution of sibling love, just a matter-of-fact acquiescence to mostly playful rivalry. Younger siblings will especially relish seeing Bradley get the upper hand. Both Bradley and Liam are pale-skinned and brown-haired. A cleareyed and realistically funny depiction of sibling dynamics.(Early reader. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.