Brothers and Sisters

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In three perceptive profiles, the enduring bond among siblings emerges through this recording of intense feelings--jealousy, protectiveness, helpfulness, bickering. Whether the protagonist is the oldest, youngest or middle child, boy or girl, black or white, the book cites more positive than negative emotions. Rosenberg ( Being Adopted ) succeeds in capturing habitual expressions (``Who cares!''; ``I want to do it'') that demonstrate the significance of birth order. How parents try to even things out is especially well-documented, as when a four-year-old can't understand why he's not invited to his older brother's friends' birthday parties: mother takes him out for a treat. Though Ancona's photographs frequently look staged, there is nothing artificial about these relationships--presented in a no-holds-barred fashion, fights and all. Ages 4-9. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-- Another family book from the team who helped readers explore Being a Twin, Having a Twin (1985) and Finding a Way: Living with Exceptional Brothers and Sisters (1988, both Lothrop). A five-year-old who is eldest of three girls, a four-year-old who is the younger of two brothers, and a six-year-old boy who is sandwiched inbetween two sisters each have a section in this photo essay. The children delineate the strengths and weaknesses of their particular positions in the birth-order lottery. Siblings horn in on the first born's adult time, younger children don't get to do as much as their older siblings, younger kids mess up projects, older kids are too bossy, and so forth. Each section ends on a positive note. While the content of the text is child oriented, the syntax and vocabulary seem directed at children who are older than the ones pictured: an unwilling child ``balks''; a five-year-old says, ``With that money I bought an extra treat in school . . .''; a five-year-old has homework. Ancona's full-color photographs of three families of varied racial backgrounds are clear and close-up, a mixture of seemingly candid and surely posed shots. Sure to get children talking about the pros and cons of their particular sibling position, this book is a good additional purchase to use with stories such as Rosemary Wells's Noisy Nora (Dial, 1973), Judy Blume 's The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo (1991) or The Pain and the Great One (1984 , both Bradbury), and Angela Johnson's One of Three (Orchard, 1991). --Susan Hepler, Alexandria City Public Schools, VA