My Sister and Me

My Sister and Me is a picture book with a distinctive style. It is an illustrated letter by an older sister to her younger sister that starts off with the older sister naming this new addition to the family: “I’m the one who chose your name ... though everybody calls you something different.” Her irritation mounts as she writes about how she gave her sister all the clothes that didn’t fit her anymore. “But you preferred Dad’s.”

As the letter progresses, her annoyance evolves as she observes her younger sister move through the various stages of childhood. “You scribbled all over my books...and stuck my stickers on the cat.” Readers see that, despite the crayon squiggles in books, the dismemberment of a favorite doll and the vow to never speak to her younger sister again, time allows her to forget these transgressions.

The initial serious tone of the letter is balanced with endearing moments such as, “I had to share everything with you. Even the chicken pox.” As the older sister continues to lament the trials of being an older sibling, the emphasis slowly alters as the narrator admits that “Out of the whole family, you’re the one who looks like me the most.” and then begins to understand the unique dynamics of having a sister, stating that, “I realized that sisters isn’t the same thing as friends. It’s not better or worse ... just different.”

The larger black font allows the reader to easily follow the text with the boldly coloured and playful child-like illustrations. Each picture reveals a depth of warmth and affection that contrasts to the text in the letter, and this serves to enrich the story. The ebb and flow of the narration perfectly captures the special challenges in a sibling relationship.

In both text and art, My Sister and Me is an authentic voice that not only conveys the challenges and everyday moments of childhood but reveals that the connection between sisters is also a relationship of love.