Story Title: Big Brother, Little Brother McGraw-Hill School Division, copyright 1997.
Author and Illustrator: Penny Dale
Genre: Realistic Fiction
The theme is that siblings generally understand each other and share a special relationship. This is a leveled book, appropriate for the developing first grade reader.
Summary: This simple to read story has surprising depth, due to the author’s intuitive understanding of relationships between siblings and the great sensitivity of the illustrations. The story explores the close relationship between two brothers and the special knowledge they have of each other’s personality. The message is that perhaps even more than the adults around them, the two young brothers know what brings joy and tears in each other.
Characters: Big Brother and Little Brother are the main and most important characters here, but the loving parents add to the charm and coziness of the book. The brothers exhibit all the typical emotions that siblings ordinarily feel for each other, including the negative but all too realistic ones, such as jealousy. The special bonding that the brothers have for each other is sweet and heart-warming and comes forth with them both ultimately attempting to make the other happy. The story relays simple and typical daily events, in which we can see the brother’s close rapport. The situations the young brothers encounter are realistic and accurate for this age group and the richness of the story comes from the illustrations succeeding in capturing real emotion.
Grade Level Appropriateness: This story can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It truly taps into the complexity of the relationships between siblings in an uplifting and positive manner. The situations the brothers find themselves in will be enjoyed and understood by the vast majority of us, child and adult alike. The vocabulary is suitable for the emerging first grade reader and I think the book would be highly enjoyed as an oral story read to the entire class, as well. There is repetition in the text, which is easy to read alone and fun to join in on if read orally together. It is rare to find an easy to read story that seems really valuable, but I think this one is!
Kathleen Buky
Author and Illustrator: Penny Dale
Genre: Realistic Fiction
The theme is that siblings generally understand each other and share a special relationship. This is a leveled book, appropriate for the developing first grade reader.
Summary: This simple to read story has surprising depth, due to the author’s intuitive understanding of relationships between siblings and the great sensitivity of the illustrations. The story explores the close relationship between two brothers and the special knowledge they have of each other’s personality. The message is that perhaps even more than the adults around them, the two young brothers know what brings joy and tears in each other.
Characters: Big Brother and Little Brother are the main and most important characters here, but the loving parents add to the charm and coziness of the book. The brothers exhibit all the typical emotions that siblings ordinarily feel for each other, including the negative but all too realistic ones, such as jealousy. The special bonding that the brothers have for each other is sweet and heart-warming and comes forth with them both ultimately attempting to make the other happy. The story relays simple and typical daily events, in which we can see the brother’s close rapport. The situations the young brothers encounter are realistic and accurate for this age group and the richness of the story comes from the illustrations succeeding in capturing real emotion.
Grade Level Appropriateness: This story can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It truly taps into the complexity of the relationships between siblings in an uplifting and positive manner. The situations the brothers find themselves in will be enjoyed and understood by the vast majority of us, child and adult alike. The vocabulary is suitable for the emerging first grade reader and I think the book would be highly enjoyed as an oral story read to the entire class, as well. There is repetition in the text, which is easy to read alone and fun to join in on if read orally together. It is rare to find an easy to read story that seems really valuable, but I think this one is!
Kathleen Buky
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