My Sister Annie [Paperback]

Bill Dodds (Author)

Book Description

Twelve-year-old Charlie comes to terms with his sister Annie who has Downs Syndrome in this thoughtful novel about one boy's growing pains and struggle to accept a sister who is "different".

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Charlie's family, "not normal is normal." Embarrassed by his older sister, Annie, who suffers from Down's syndrome, and his younger twin sisters, 11-year-old Charlie struggles to balance the demands of his particular family with his own preoccupations--an attractive classmate named Misty and the chance to join a popular but unruly club. Charlie's ambivalence and his resentment of Annie are realistically if simplistically depicted. The one-note theme holds back the development of the characters, so that Charlie's immediate response to advice offered by a supportive coach (who describes having a blind brother) and a new support group seems too easy. Dodds, who is the father of a learning-disabled child, is much more convincing when he conveys Charlie's discomfiture in the presence of peers who stare at or mock Annie; his discussion of difficult family dynamics generates not only interest but sympathy. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-- Now completing sixth grade, Charlie has reached a point in his life where he's being deluged with decisions. His first-person narration, mostly a monologue, informs readers of his struggle to balance a need to belong with a sense of right and wrong. Adolescent pressures are piling up, from Charlie's peers, baseball team, family, and girls. Complicating every facet of his life is his older sister, Annie, who has Down's syndrome and is severely retarded. Adding levity to this brief novel are Charlie's other sisters, four-year-old identical twins who lack presence and personality but whose name game (they are called "by any two things that go together. Salt and Pepper. Bacon and Eggs. Death and Destruction") is clever, literary fun. The parents are rather flat but well-intentioned people, struggling with a difficult family and demonstrating their love and concern at all times. Charlie is clearly the star of his own tale. His worries, his voice, and his needs are as real as the kids hanging around on every corner; his understanding of Annie as he moves from humiliation to compassion will touch something inside readers. For Love of Jeremy (Dutton, 1990) by Krantz offers more information on Down's syndrome. --Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 94 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Pr (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563975548
• ISBN-13: 978-1563975547
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,105,812 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Dodds has been writing since the age of six when . . .

No, wait. That was printing. And he got Ds in that.

He started writing in . . .

No, wait. That was cursive. And, again, his grades were not stellar.

Ah, but creative writing . . . ! After his blockbuster first novel, "The Christmas Ball" (written in the first or second grade), he . . .

Well, what he did was write only for school assignments and never read ten books from the library for the summer reading program. Ever. No certificate for him.

After he was sent to prison . . .

No, wait.

After he went to boarding school at the tender age of fourteen he started to read more (pre-Internet days and only one non-cable TV set in the entire building) and started to write more.

No, wait.

He had some great teachers in grade school and high school and college who helped him learn how to write, how to write better, and how to write professionally.

He has cranked out a lot of books, like making so many pounds of sausages.

No, wait.

He is a prolific writer.

Ooh. That sounds good.

Stop here, Bill.

Stop, stop, stop.

No wait.

Buy some of his books.

Good.

Now stop.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed but true to feelings, April 28, 2006

By 

Reader "Carrie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Sister Annie (Paperback)

MY SISTER ANNIE is Charlie's story. Like many preteens, he's starting to be interested in girls, he wants to fit in with the boys, and then there's his family, which embarrasses him, particularly his sister Annie, who although older, doesn't act it, because she has Down Syndrome.

Charlie's interactions with Annie and his struggle over his conflicting feelings for her, are true to life. While I can't give this book five stars because of the too predictable, too easy plot devices at the end, if you want to understand what it's like to have a Down Syndrome sibling in the family, this is the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars ...BUY THIS BOOK..., May 22, 2002

By 

C. Luedeke (Granite) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Sister Annie (Paperback)

I think this book is very well written. It is written from the eyes of a sibling with a down syndrome sister. It lets the read know and feel how a sibling feels with a disabled family member. I am a younger sister of a mentally retarded older brother and I have felt and wondered many of the same things the the young boy in this book feels and goes through. At times I have thought that maybe I was a bad person for feeling these things but this book lets me know that it was okay. It shows siblings that other people have the same issues and that it is okay. It doesn't mean that you are a bad person or that you don't love you sibling just because at times you feel angry, embarassed, etc. I think the author had a good feeling of what a sibling goes through and expressed it very well in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone that has a disabled sibling.

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done, May 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: My Sister Annie (Paperback)

I think this book was very well written. I am a younger sister of a mentally retarded older brother. I think this book lets the reader see and feel what it is like to be a sibling of a disabled child. I know from my personal life I have felt sometimes the same way. And by me saying this it doesn't mean that I don't love my brother or even think that he is not an equal. I think this books helps siblings realize that it is okay to get angry, frustrated, etc. every once and a while. It doesn't mean you are a bad person or that you don't love your brother/sister.