Recently I had a birthday, and one of the nice things about the day was that everyone of my siblings got in touch. That is one of the pleasures that comes with having quite a few siblings. Of course, as children we weren't always that amicable and some of us got on better than others. Another pleasure for me is seeing whole families use my library so that I get to know the younger siblings long before they start school. Teaching each member of a family is quite an honour I feel.
There are so many wonderful books about siblings and their relationships, some of them quite famous in fact. Among others there is:
• Alfie and Annie Rose Shirley Hughes.
• Frances and Gloria Russell Hoban.
• Max and Ruby Rosemary Wells
• Horrid Henry and Perfect Peter Francesca Simon
• Judy Moody and Stink Megan McDonald
• Ramona and Beezus Beverly Cleary
• Anastasia and Sam Lois Lowry
• The Pain and the Great One Judy Blume
Each of these series hooks readers in, to keep reading more and more about what these children are doing to and with each other.
For very young children where it is more about sibling rivalry there are picture book series like these:
• My Big Brother, Boris; My Little Sister, Doris by Liz Pichon
• The Very Worst Monster; Silly Billy; Three Star Billy; It's My Birthday stories about Hazel and Billy by Pat Hutchins
• Share With Brother; Stay With Sister; Baby by Steven Layne
A common request in my library is for a book for a toddler about welcoming a new baby. There are many but I can't always remember one quickly when asked on the hop. Here are a few that are in my library that I pull out for this purpose:
• A Baby for Grace by Ian Whybrow
• How to be a Baby...by Me, the Big Sister by Sally Lloyd-Jones
• One Special Day by Lola M. Schaefer
• I'm a Big Sister by Ronne Randall
• Big Brother Little Brother by Penny Dale
And just in case, you'd rather do the whole sibling thing with animals instead, there is a book by the fabulous Steve Jenkins and his wife Robin Page, Brothers and Sisters, Sibling Relationships in the Animal World.
I love your list! You hit all my favorites. I also love Steve Jenkins and his new book, My First Day, is also good for a child expecting a new sibling - it's about what baby animals can do on their first day.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea of siblings especially since I don't have any! Might try this as a mini theme this year. An old book comes to mind - long out of print sadly and not in my library - Jenny's baby brother - one of the first books illustrated by Bob Graham. It has the fabulous scene where the baby fills her spoon with porridge and flicks it across the breakfast table straight into her brother's face. His reaction is perfect - the opposite of what you might expect.
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