Grace has not seen her older half brother, Fred, for a year-since she and her mother moved to the United States and he stayed in Australia with his father. In a letter, Grace tells Fred about her new home, remembering the good times they shared as well as the occasions when she got him into trouble. Now Grace has her own baby sister, so she understands about being the older child, and she looks forward to Fred's visit, when they can be the "big kids" together. Susanna Rodell and Kim Gamble have captured the confusion and pain caused by a complex family situation, while showing how family members can create new lives without relinquishing their earlier ties to one another.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Grace, a young mouse, has moved from Australia to the United States with her mother, leaving her half brother, Fred, behind. As she tells him in this epistolary picture book?Rodell's first?she misses him, remembers their games fondly and can't wait until his Christmas visit. Clearly well-intentioned but bland, this portrayal adds little of note to the growing literature on nontraditional families. The memories Grace writes of?playing Knights and Dragons with Fred, making mudpies together, incurring his anger when she breaks a toy?are not rendered with any particular staying power or with any attention to the different geographical settings, and they fail to imbue the siblings' relationships with any distinguishing poignancy or depth. Nor is "Grace's" letter always convincing?several passages are baldly meant to convey information to the reader rather than to Fred ("I never thought of you as my half brother, even though you had a different dad"); and the only explanation for the siblings' separation ("That's the kind of thing that happens in complicated families like ours") is perfunctory and unlikely to reassure. Gamble's cartoonish mice have a pop-eyed geniality but limited expressivess; like the text, they are pleasant but not special. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2?Grace, a young mouse, used to live in Australia where she could regularly see her half brother, Fred. Now she and her mother live in New York with her mother's husband and a baby sister, Ruby. Grace writes to Fred and tries to sort out her feelings about their "complicated" family. She recalls the good times they shared, as well as occasions when they would get into trouble. Now she has to be the responsible one and watch out for Ruby. Her letter ends on a wistful note as she says, "I love you, Freddy, and I hope you remember me." The last scene shows an excited Grace and Ruby meeting Fred at the airport when he comes to visit. The watercolor illustrations have a contemporary look that is in line with the subject matter. Grace's apartment, sparely funished with sleek furniture, and the busy cityscapes contrast sharply with the green Australian scenes. The mice's features are elongated, with big, bulging eyes and long tales that curve. The story effectively captures a child's perspective on life in modern society.?Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book for Split and Blended Families,
This review is from: Dear Fred (Hardcover)
One of my son's favorite books. I cried the first time I read it and bought a copy for my son's half brother who lives far away. It does a great job explaining that Grace is still Fred's sister even though they live far apart.
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