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Review: Nearly Exactly Almost Like Me

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Written by Jennifer Bradbury
Illustrated by Pearl AuYeung
New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book.

When an ice cream truck stops in the park, two brothers rush to get in line. The older boy gets there first to hold their place in line just for someone to yell, "No cuts!" when his little brother joins. It turns out that "no cuts" boy doesn't believe they're brothers due to their lack of family resemblance. However, the big brother insists that his adopted younger brother is "nearly, exactly, almost like me." He then goes on to describe the various traits he and his little brother share, such as both loving their trampoline or how they both ate way too much candy on Valentine's Day and threw up on the rug. Through highlighting their similarities, we get the story of how both boys came to be with their family. Their parents first met each of them "through a picture," a sonogram or photograph. And the parents had to travel to hold them, a drive to the hospital or a plane across the world. While the "no cuts" conflict isn't completely resolved at the end, all the children take their ice cream and go play with their siblings from multiple types of families.

This is an adorable book about sibling affection, shown well through the expressive illustrations of the boys. It's touching the way you see the older brother (the narrator) care for-and mess with-his younger brother, Dev. This book will be loved by older siblings and parents, regardless of how their family was made.
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