Little Miss, Big Sis

April 1, 2015
With minimal text, a "little miss" navigates the tricky waters that will make her a "big sis." A new-baby title in which the older sibling is actually enthusiastic about the prospect of big sisterhood? What a concept! From the moment she is told that there will soon be a baby, this little girl is thrilled and impatient. Short words and phrases deftly summarize the days that follow the baby's birth. "Sleep. Fuss. Eat. / Repeat." Fortunately, the big sis takes it upon herself to keep the baby happy with songs, puppets, lap games, you name it. Rosenthal dances along the tricky line separating sincerity from pablum, ultimately producing a story that is as heartwarming as it is child-friendly. After all, it's not all sunshine and roses, and the book acknowledges the inevitable downsides of new babies: hair pulling, drooling, toy stealing, and more. In the end, it is clear that the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Reynolds keeps his images sparse and spare, placing his cheery, bigheaded cartoon Caucasian family members against generous expanses of white space. His baby grows to be an androgynous little tyke, cleverly turning this book into a big-sister title with a broad scope. Jealousy is nothing short of a foreign concept in this charmer of a tale, and siblings-to-be everywhere will take note. (Picture book. 4-8)

October 1, 2015

PreS-K-A family of three has big news: "Little Miss will be a big sis!" Described in staccato but rhythmic rhyming text and accompanied by jaunty cartoon line and wash illustrations on every page, this story will resonate with many readers. Life for Little Miss gets more interesting (and maybe more tiring) as the baby grows out of the "Sleep./Fuss./Eat./Repeat..." phase to "Funny faces./Warm embraces./Giggly chases." Through it all, Little Miss is learning how to be a much-loved big sister. VERDICT An engaging tale with vivacious, expressive illustrations and lively language.-Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2015
Preschool-G Little Miss, first introduced in Plant a Kiss (2012), finds that she will have a new opportunity to nurture. She is going to be a big sis! As in their previous collaboration, Rosenthal and Reynolds' economical use of text and illustration is just enough to tell a story with room to grow. While the narration begins from the perspective of Little Miss, it shifts to the sibling's point of view once he is old enough to articulate his feelings for his sister. It is a lovely transition that reveals the long-term rewards of personal relationships, even when one half of a pair is too young to contribute much. ( Sleep. Fuss. Eat. Repeat. ) Though the sentiment is cutesy and glosses over the times when being a big sister is more of a chore than a delight, this is undeniably heartwarming. With a warm palette of yellows and browns and a matter-of-fact tempo, Little Miss' story defies the notion that being a big sister is anything but the best experience in the world.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)