My Big Brother

Publishers Weekly

An accomplished photographer with work in major museums in New York, London and Paris, Fisher creates a tongue-in-cheek volume from a baby's eye view in this captivating debut. The opening spread, for example, shows big brother from the knees down; his black sneakers, wrinkled red socks and blue Band-Aid dominate an image framed in a white border. On the left, toddler-friendly type declares: "This is my big brother." The brother looms large in the next spread, sporting a plastic tool belt and yellow hard hat ("Everyone makes a fuss over how big I am, but my brother is really big"). Pairs of photos expand the effect: a shot of big brother with an "open wide" expression offering a spoonful of strained carrots ("My big brother feeds me," says the baby) is followed by a photo of the older sibling's food-speckled face ("And I feed my big brother"). Later, dual shots of a peek-a-boo game in progress draw readers into the action. In the end, big brother turns the tables: lying on the floor he puts a mirror to baby's face, revealing the narrator for the first time. With just a whiff of irony, this attractive volume unveils not only a talented photographer, but an author fully attuned to her subjects. Ages 3-6. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Valorie Fisher is the author and illustrator of My Big Brother and My Big Sister, both Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award winners; and Ellsworth's Extraordinary Electric Ears, called "sassy" in a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Her photographs have been widely exhibited and are in many major museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, London's Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. Ms. Fisher lives in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut, with her husband and two children.