Our Favorite Little Brothers from Children’s Literature

James “Stink” Moody (The Judy Moody series and Stink series, by Megan McDonald)
Stink is the younger brother to the strong and sassy third-grader Judy Moody. But there’s more to this guy than being Judy’s little “bother.” A few of his idiosyncrasies: He’s the kind of kid who names his farts (he’s really into smells), he reads encyclopedias in his spare time, and he’s a member of the Toad Pee Club. In his spin-off series, Stink entertains readers with his hilarious ventures, including starting a letter-writing campaign against the injustice of a jawbreaker that didn’t actually succeed in breaking his jaw and having a sleepover with a shark.

Farley Drexel “Fudge” Hatcher (The Fudge series, by Judy Blume)
One of the many awesome aspects of reading all of the books in Judy Blume’s much-loved Fudge series is getting to follow the hijinks of Peter Hatcher’s mischievous little brother, Fudge. Over the course of the five books—Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, Superfudge, Fudge-a-Mania, and Double Fudge—Fudge manages to entertain readers and completely annoy his big brother (and many others) with his antics. A super-short list of Fudge’s many transgressions: He scribbles on Peter’s homework, chops off most of his own hair, swallows his big brother’s pet turtle, and runs away from home. But underneath it all, Fudge really is a sweet kid.

David Michael Thomas (The Baby-Sitters Club series, by Ann M. Martin)
There are lots of little brothers running around in this beloved Ann M. Martin series—Dawn Schaefer’s younger brother, Jeff; Kristy Thomas’s little stepbrother, Andrew Brewer; Mallory Pike’s four little brothers; Jessi Ramsey’s baby brother, Squirt; and all of the little bros among the club’s babysitting charges. But the reason Kristy’s little brother David Michael is one of our faves is because he was the whole inspiration for Kristy starting the Baby-Sitters Club in the first place. One day Kristy is watching her mother frantically call around trying to find a last-minute sitter for David Michael when Kristy’s great idea strikes—what if a parent could call just one phone number and reach a bunch of qualified sitters? And the rest is BSC history all thanks to David Michael (and Kristy). Other David Michael fun facts: He collects baseball cards, loathes playing Let’s All Come In with his stepsister, and loves acting.

Baby Billy (Mustache Baby, by Bridget Heos and Joy Ang)
Baby Billy is born with a mustache in this silly and quirky picture book, which is already enough of a reason for him to make this list. “You’ll have to wait and see if it is a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache,” the nurse tells his puzzled family when he’s born. Our mustachioed protagonist takes on various personas as his mustache changes—he’s a cowboy, painter, and pilot when his mustache is the good-guy kind and later turns into a “cereal” criminal, bank robber, and cat burglar as the ends of his mustache curl up in classic bad-guy fashion. Will he end up behind bars (of his crib) until he’s old enough to shave? Find out in this whimsical and funny book.

Ronald Weasley (The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling)
Ron is the sixth of seven Weasley children to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is the younger brother of Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George, and older brother to the family’s one sister, Ginny. So what makes this ginger pure-blood one of our fave little bros? Even though his temper occasionally gets the best of him and he’s a bit lazy with his wizarding homework, his loyalty to his family and friends, sardonic sense of humor, and bravery in the face of extreme danger are all traits that make Ron a standout sibling. And we obviously aren’t the only ones to take notice, as he counts Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as his best friends.

Max (The Max & Ruby series, by Rosemary Wells)
Little brother to older sister Ruby, Max is a determined and smart young bunny. Bossy Ruby may think she’s the one in charge of their many adventures together, but clever Max often proves otherwise. For instance, in Bunny Cakes, Max wants to make their grandmother a worm-infested cake for her birthday, but Ruby insists on “an angel surprise cake with raspberry-fluff icing.” In the end, though, little Max ends up worming his way into the kitchen after all in this fun read-aloud for the preschool set.

Jonah (The Whatever After series, by Sarah Mlynowski)
Seven-year-old Jonah is the little brother of 10-year-old Abby, and together this sibling duo has been wrecking fairy tales left and right as they venture through the magic mirror in their basement into well-known stories like Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, and Rapunzel. Thus far in the seven books, Jonah has been hiking with Snow White, frozen by the Snow Queen, had all memories of his storybook adventures erased by a fairy, and been held captive by the Beast. But he carries on with his adventurous spirit and loyalty to his sister as they continue to unveil the mysteries of the magic mirror and Maryrose, the fairy who resides within it.
Who’s your favorite fictional little brother?