Horn Book Review
Fiction: Y A first chapter book with engaging pencil drawings. Each evening for a week, Molly tells her mother a story about her younger sister, thereby dissipating some common sibling frustrations. The bare-bones, somewhat didactic plot may still be a source of illumination to some young readers. Horn Rating: Recommended, with minor flaws. Reviewed by: nv (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
When Molly declares herself tired of little sister Susan, Mama has just the right suggestion: ""Sometimes it helps to tell a story."" So, sitting cuddled with Mama in ""the big chair,"" Molly tells stories--how she lost a tooth, but Susan didn't because she's too young; how she took her bear to school in spite of her friend's advice, and found he was one of six bears there the first day; how she and Susan shared jam and crackers on Molly's bed. Beginning on Monday, there's a story for each day of the week; on Friday, it's Daddy's turn to listen, while Susan has a turn with Mama; and by Sunday, Molly's seventh story is centered on her real affection for her sister. De Groat's realistic drawings nicely extend the warm family feeling here; only the attractive jacket reveals that Molly has been telling her stories to Susan, too. A nicely crafted collection of brief, easily read chapters. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 2-3, younger for reading aloud. "I'm tired of having a sister," says Molly, whose mother responds by setting aside some times when she and Molly will sit together while Molly tells stories about herself and her sister, Susan. That's the setup for a series of brief, childlike vignettes that illuminate the dimensions of the girls' relationship. Molly's frustrations spill out in stories involving Susan's copycatting or the sisters' bickering over who carries Daddy's birthday cake. But finer moments between the two also emerge as Molly recalls Susan giving her forbidden jam for a snack or the two of them exchanging a song or a story at bedtime. The portrayals of sisterly dynamics are on the mark, as is the quiet acknowledgment of a child's need for special attention from a parent. Wallace-Brodeur has succeeded in imbuing these gentle accounts of everyday occurrences with a psychological truth children will immediately recognize. Yet her touch is ever so light; it's not only children who will see themselves reflected in these pages. --Denise Wilms
