Frog Face: My Little Sister and Me
"Sometimes I thought being a big sister would be fun. And sometimes I thought it wouldn't be fun and that Mom and Dad didn't need to have anyone around but me." The sentiments of young Johanna will ring true to most oldest siblings, who will immediately relate to the ambiguous feelings children may have about gaining a new member of the family. (It's tough to lose the attention-guaranteed alpha-child position, but it also turns out to be pretty cool to have someone to play with.) InFrog Face: My Little Sister and Me, we witness Johanna's developing relationship with her sister through a series of lovely, amusing pictures taken over the course of several years by the girls' mother, fine art photographer Janet Delaney. Author John Schindel accompanies these delightful, spontaneous images with heartfelt text inspired by his own two daughters, which reveals how Johanna moves from thinking the new baby "spent too much time with mom," to considering "maybe having a little sister was going to be okay," to confirming that "being sisters is special." Oldest siblings recently faced with a new baby will appreciate seeing how another child copes with this familial upheaval, and those who have had 20 or 30 or 50 years to adjust will smile with recognition and love.--Brangien Davis