Saturday, February 12, 2011

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems. Kristine O'Connell George. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 47 pages.

Soccer Game

My friends are cracking up,
pointing at that little kid
wearing a ruffled petticoat
flowered hat
long white gloves
plaid pants
earrings like chandeliers
and plastic high-heeled shoes
with rhinestones.

That kid who's jumping up and down
on the bleachers
waving her feather boat
yelling at me,
Goooo, Jessica!

I pretend I've never seen 
that kid ever before
in my whole entire life.

I really enjoyed this picture book! This "story" is loosely told through a collection of poems. The poems focus on the oh-so-complex relationship between a big sister, Jessica, and her little sister, Emma. I liked many of the poems. Like "Emma's Hand," "Translator," "Bed Partner," Picture Books," "Snooping," "Cheating,"  and "Emma's Birthday." I'll be honest, I liked almost every single one. They were all so good, so true, so right.

Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 8 out of 10

© 2011 Becky Laney of Young Readers

1 comment:

Shelly B said...

What a cute book! Sounds like a great introduction to poetry for young kids. May need to pick this one up for my oldest granddaughter b/c she is a big sister.