Children's books about siblings

April 2

Good morning, sunshine ☀️ (I mean, there is not actual sunshine here, but I know the sun is behind the clouds somewhere.)

I learned one very important thing while I was out of town this past week, wandering around an exhibit on Lewis and Clark at the Frazier History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky: there is such a thing as all-black raccoons. They’re called melanistic raccoons, and are even rarer than albino raccoons. I cannot overemphasize the extent to which this blew my mind. There was a taxidermied melanistic raccoon in this exhibit, but it was so deep in the shadows that not only could I not get a good photo of it, I doubted it was real — it seemed hidden on purpose and anyway, I was too preoccupied standing there gaping, wondering, absolutely embarrassed, how I have lived this long without knowing about melanistic animals. If anyone wants to write a children’s book on this topic — PAGING STEVE JENKINS — I. am. HERE FOR IT.

Now to our topic at hand. (Don’t think I wasn’t tempted to throw this out the window and do a mini issue on raccoons, but I cannot actually conjure a newsletter post in like 30 hours, and my intention for this week is to go at a normal pace. I am laughing just writing that. In a parallel universe, it may be possible.)

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Mini issue: siblings

If you have them, you know. Siblings can be the best and the worst people in our lives, sometimes in the same day. But they are also the people we know the longest out of everyone — longer than our parents and our children, longer than our partners and almost all of our friends. For better or worse, they’re ours.

Two things to know about this mini issue on siblings:

1. These are not new baby books, about the arrival of a new sibling — if you’re interested in booklist for that topic, let me know.

2. In reading to my own two children, whose relationship I care about profoundly and which I tend as best I can (admittedly I sometimes find myself saying things like, “YOU ONLY HAVE ONE SISTER, SO BE KIND TO HER OR ELSE!”), I have always prioritized titles that focus on the positive, fostering as much goodwill, support, and loving feelings as possible… but it’s also true that we’re all human, and living with other humans can be a challenge (especially when those humans know how to push every single one of your very-human buttons), so there are a few titles here that also reflect the harder parts of reality.

   (On that note: if you’re looking for titles that are consistently positive and sweet, my favorite sibling relationships in children’s literature can be found in the Lola and Leo books by Anna McQuinn, and for the slightly older crowd, the Oliver Pig and Amanda Pig early chapter books by Jean Van Leeuwen. I highly recommend them all.)

Picture books

• Max’s Castle by Kate Banks

• The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon by Matthew Burgess

• Chirri and Chirra by Kaya Doi (the whole series is wonderful and features the siblings throughout)

• Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman

• Secret Tree Fort by Brianne Farley

• Snippy and Snappy by Wanda Gág

• Sheila Rae, The Brave by Kevin Henkes

• The Evil Princess vs. The Brave Knight by Jennifer L. Holm

• Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats

• When You’re Older by Sofie Laguna

• Louise Loves Art by Kelly Light

• Just Like My Brother by Kelly Marino

• Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear

Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear

• Adèle & Simon by Barbara McClintock

• Sisters and Brothers by David McPhail

• To the Other Side by Erika Meza

• The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family by Ibtihaj Muhammad with S.K. Ali

• Maple & Willow Together by Lori Nichols

• What Sisters Do Best and What Brothers Do Best by Laura Joffee Numeroff

• Mia Moves Out by Miranda Paul

• My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco

• Mabel and Sam at Home by Linda Urban

• Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

• A Few Blocks by Cybele Young

• Little Sister and Big Sister by Charlotte Zolotow

Chapter books

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• The Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume

• Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech

• The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

• The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konisburg

• Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

• Ling & Ting: Not Exactly the Same by Grace Lin (early chapter book)

• Root Magic by Eden Royce

Nonfiction

• Sisters and Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World by Steve Jenkins

Poetry

• Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine George O’Connell

• Brothers and Sisters: Family Poems by Eloise Greenfield

• Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems by Mary Ann Hoberman

• Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. Williams

If you want to shop for any of these books or just prefer a visual roundup, see my Bookshop.org list:

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Micro review: Big Sister, Long Coat by Nelly Buchet, illustrated by Rachel Kastaller (2024)

I received a copy of this book from NorthSouth Books — opinions are my own.

In this short but sweet title, two sisters are “supposed to have the best day,” but everything goes sideways — it’s super hot and too crowded, then it starts pouring rain, then their plans have to change and change again. None of it is what the little sister expects — and honestly, it’s hard to get right with all the things going wrong — but they manage to salvage it, and somehow, it’s better because they’re together.

The story here is simple — there’s a lot happening in Katstaller’s muted digital illustrations without a lot of words to accompany them — but for any kiddo who has trouble rolling with the punches (raising my hand here as someone with this type of kiddo, and as someone who is this type of person), it’s a gentle lesson in flexibility, staying open to the possibilities, and most of all, being wonderfully present with the people we love.

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Read good books and take good care 😘
Sarah

P.S. All Bookshop.org links are affiliate ones — I receive a small commission if you make a purchase and trust me, this adds up, and I appreciate it.