Amazing Brother and Amazing Sister by Alison Brown
Tomorrow is National Siblings Day and we have a delightful blog from Alison Brown, author and illustrator of Amazing Brother and Amazing Sister! Check it out for a glimpse of the illustrations as well!
Siblings are amazing!
I love my sisters. Absolutely, 100%.
But did we always get on? No way! Especially if you’d asked me when I was trying to fend off my older and BIGGER sister during one of our frequent scraps or trying to retrieve my prized Snoopy sweatshirt from the horrendous chaos of her bedroom. I must confess that I nicked her stuff, too. In fact, I even pinched her exclusive right to her own birthday by arriving exactly a year after she did. How annoying is that? She’s forgiven me now, though.
Siblinghood is one of life’s most intense and wonderful gifts.
There are lots of lovely books celebrating brothers and sisters. But not everyone finds it easy to talk in a very earnest way about the love between siblings! My approach in ‘Amazing Brother’ and ‘Amazing Sister’ is to use a bit of silliness to celebrate the quirky characteristics and funny moments that become a special part of a family’s story. I think humour is one of the best, and often most accessible, ways to express big feelings.
I hope that these two books will be a gently funny introduction to siblinghood for children about to get a new brother or sister, and thus becoming one themselves. For those who have one already, it’s a way of opening up a conversation about what makes their brother or sister special and unique. And they could make a great gift for a sibling, whatever their age!
I like to imagine that the adults, reading this book with children, might recognise themselves and their own siblings. For example, the brother who finishes the biscuits – a parent’s comment of “Oh yes, your uncle Charlie used to ALWAYS do that” could help a younger child understand that their parents or carers are also sisters and brothers, too. They’ll begin to recognise the special and long-lasting bond that siblings have.
It was important to me that ‘Amazing Brother’ and ‘Amazing Sister’ encompass the fun and love between brothers and sisters who come in all forms! That includes the siblings that you gain along the way, perhaps in blended families, and not forgetting the people who are just like brothers and sisters to you.
‘Amazing Brother’ and ‘Amazing Sister’ are, in one way, a quick read, but my hope is that they will light the fuse for many conversations about families and relationships – the ups, the downs, the unique (occasionally maddening) characteristics, as well as the often hilarious, but always precious, shared moments and memories.
(National Siblings Day is celebrated on the 10th April)
