The New Small Person
The New Small Person by Lauren Child takes about 7 minutes to read aloud (752 words, about 2 sentences a page), and it lands best with children aged 4-6.
Measured read-aloud timeabout 7 minutes
- Words
- 752
- Sentences a page
- 2
- Re-read tolerance
- 4/5survives a fortnight on repeat
- Vocabulary
- 3/5a few new words
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The useful verdict
Why The New Small Person works
Elmore Green had everything to himself, and the new small person licks his sweets and touches his things in precisely the order that enrages an older sibling. The turn comes at night, in the dark, when the small person says something kind - it is earned rather than announced.
Before you buy it
Elmore's resentment runs across a lot of spreads, and under-fours lose the thread before the reconciliation arrives.
Themes: siblings, jealousy, sharing a room, only children.
Same shape, new story
Books like The New Small Person
Matched by length, refrain, sentence density, and listener—not just subject.
Julius, the Baby of the Worldabout 10 minutes · 4/5 re-read
Peter's Chairabout 2.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
Alexander, Who's Not (Do You Hear Me? I Mean It!) Going to Moveabout 10.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
There's Going to Be a Babyabout 3.5 minutes · 3/5 re-read
Noisy Noraabout 2 minutes · 5/5 re-read
Elizabeti's Dollabout 5 minutes · 4/5 re-read
Straight answers
Questions parents ask about The New Small Person
- How long does it take to read The New Small Person aloud?
- About 7 minutes at an unhurried pace, from a word count of 752. Reading it fast shaves perhaps a third off; stopping for questions on every page can double it.
- What age is The New Small Person actually for?
- Ages 4-6 in our testing, which is narrower than the publisher's range. With 2 sentences a page and vocabulary at 3 out of 5, it asks for that much attention span and no more.
- Does The New Small Person survive being read on repeat?
- Yes. It survives a fortnight of nightly repeats, which is the real test.