From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 6—Greenfield's poetic observations and commentaries succinctly capture siblings at various ages and stages, from "My Little Brother" to "Grandma and Her Sisters." With only a few lines, the author grasps the love and admiration, the frustration and hurt, the fun and aggravation that they can engender. "Still, I think no matter what, I'd rather have them than not." The illustrator is equally as skillful in depicting the wide range of emotions and ages in the faces of the individual African Americans peopling the paintings. The realistic watercolors fit around and beside the poems, using the white space to highlight the art and give balance to the pages. This book needs to be shared in classrooms, in storytimes, and especially within families.—
Carolyn Janssen, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The creators of numerous titles, including I Can Draw a Weeposaur and Other Dinosaurs (2001), Greenfield and Gilchrist team up again in this collection of 25 short poems about life with siblings. The poems’ titles indicate the range of family themes: “New Brothers,” “Mad at Dad,” “Grandma and Her Sisters,” “Let’s Make Up,” “Aunt Me,” and “The Two of Us,” which concludes, “Whatever we do, / we know we’re going to do it / together.” The styles are varied; some poems follow strict rhymes, while others are written in looser forms. All of the selections, though, feature timeless characters and situations. The exclusively African American characters in the watercolor-and-ink art are sometimes awkwardly drawn, but the themes are clear and universal. Everyone can relate to the poems’ affection, frustration, laughter, jealousy, and family pride, as well as the love that always shines through. Grades 1-4. --Andrew Medlar
