 |
Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Dear Brother
Author: Alison McGhee
Ilustrator: Tuan Nini
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: 2-5 Genre/Type of Book: Realistic Fiction/Graphic Novel
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: Sibling Rivalry
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: JLG Subscription box/graphic novel
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
When your sibling gets EVERYTHING they ever want, and you're always "America's Most Overlooked Sibling," what can you do?
|
Review:
"America's Most Overlooked Sibling" is sentenced to write apology letters from her room for calling her brother "America's Famous Nothing," in this witty sibling-rivalry graphic novel. Told almost exclusively in notes, letters, photos, and text messages between the brother and sister, this story is so relatable. When it comes time to choose a family pet, Sister is excited to FINALLY have her turn and choose a dog. But, it turns out the apartment building doesn't allow dogs and who gets to choose, AGAIN? Brother!! He picks a bearded dragon, much to Sister's chagrin. This sparks another series of difficulties between them, which are hilariously and emotionally played out on the page. As Sister starts to see the truth of her Brother's feelings and even, maybe, care about the bearded dragon, will she come around to the idea that they're not so bad, after all?
I absolutely adored this story of sibling rivalry. It reminded me a lot of my own sibling relationships, and how we don't often see eye-to-eye with our family members. There are plenty of feelings of unfairness going around in families, and this story presents the other side of the usual coin. Normally, we see stories of older-sibling-feeling-overlooked-in-favor-of-younger, but in this case, it's the younger sibling always being told "you'll get your turn when you're older." I really enjoyed the role-reversal, and I laughed out loud at so many of the sister's letters, notes, and thoughts. I also didn't realize until writing this review that only the characters' friends are ever named, along with the bearded dragon, Frightful. Our main characters are always "Brother" or "Sister." I thought that was really interesting, and it gives the reader the feeling that these characters could be any one of us. The expressions of all of the characters, INCLUDING Frightful, are just adorable. I loved every moment of reading this graphic novel and I am sure my readers will, too.
This book would be great in SEL lessons about family and even friendship dynamics, especially with the "they always get what they want," "life isn't fair," "it's never my turn," type discussions. There's a lot to be said about waiting for the right moment and allowing ourselves to try new things. You can also talk about how opening yourself up to new experiences can have unexpected bright sides, and how you will also learn things about the people around you that you didn't expect.
Graphic novel readers are definitely going to jump on this one, and since it was somewhat sparse in its text I could see high-interest/low level readers really enjoying it, as well. It would even be great for our younger readers who want more challenging texts but aren't quite ready for bigger chapter books, yet. Overall, this book was a delight and I can't wait to read it again.
Number of party hats:
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website