Charlotte Zolotow (Author),Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)

From Booklist

Ages 3-7. Bold new illustrations featuring African American characters heighten the text of Zolotow's 1958 classic about a young girl's tender question-and-answer game with her brother. Mixed-media collages set against white backgrounds beautifully expand the simple, poetic words, shaping in just a few images the exuberant character of the sister as she dotes, cherishes, bosses, dazzles, and comforts her younger brother. Created from painted wood, fake fur, and fabric cutouts, the collages are filled with the material details contemporary kids will relate to, but they also reflect the emotional details of sibling life--the private, elaborate games, the fierce love, and children's shifting moods. In one spread, a stunning composition of the girl's round serene face above a round pail accompanies text reading, "Do you know what I'll do when it rains? I'll catch the rain in a pail for your plants." In another, the girl, wonderfully garish in blue eye-shadow, pink boa, and Billie Holiday orchids, belts a song into a microphone: "Do you know what I'll do at the movies? I'll remember the song and sing it to you." Whatever their position in the family lineup, young ones will find themselves in this startling, spot-on portrayal of loving, creative siblings. Gillian Engberg
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