Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sibling Rivalry

JOSHY: Two and two is four.
And five and five and five is... uh, ... a lot of fives.

God, that kid is funny. He tries SO hard to keep up with his sister who is 15 months older.

When she was able to swim without a vest, he said, "No vest."

But, Joshy, you can't swim.

Yes, I can.

Sure enough, within a week, he was a fish.

When she got a two wheeler, he said, "No more trike."

When she went skiing, he went skiing.

But the one thing he absolutely cannot keep up with her on is reading. And it kills him.

One night in bed, Jordan read a book to all of us. She read it beautifully. She may have hesitated on one word, but she got it without help. When she was done, Joshy said:

Terrible, Jordan. Terrible.

I really want to write a PB on sibling rivalry. Some editors say that topic is overdone. But I actually can't think of any great picture books on this subject. If you can, please share!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I don't typically read PBs, so my comment isn't really helpful. But, personally, I think it would be interesting!

lisa and laura said...

Hmmm...we have over a hundred PB's and not a single one on sibling rivalry! I think it's a great idea!

Rebecca Gomez said...

I can't think of any off the top of my head. But as with any topic, it doesn't matter how often it's been done as long as you are able to make it stand out.

Hardygirl said...

I'm just catching up on your blog! Dinner with Stephen Barbara? Cool!

Sibling rivalry is a huge motivator in our house. Definitely drives most, if not all, of our conflicts and bodily injuries.

I guess my WIP is about sibling rivalry--two very different sisters . . .

sf

Angela Ackerman said...

I think it's a great idea.

Linda said...

Mostly of the sibling rivalry books I can think of are new baby books. But there are a few titles from big-name authors:
Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by Patricia Polacco
Sheila Rae the Brave by Kevin Henkes
Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume

Kelly H-Y said...

The only one that comes to mind is a Berenstain Bears book ... can't remember which title, but it's from a while back. I think it's a great topic!

Jacqui said...

Judith Viorst has great sibling rivalry in I'LL FIX ANTHONY

MUCH BIGGER THAN MARTIN, by Steven Kellogg, is great.

One of the Frances books is about her little sister Gloria's birthday and there's great jealousy.

But mainly, they're new baby rivalry, like Linda said.

Corey Schwartz said...

Thanks! Jacqui, I'll check those out. I know of lots of new baby books, but I hadn't heard of those particular Viorst and Kellogg books.