My Sister is a Treasure

The arrival of a new baby is always an experience. Here a baby sister has arrived and all the grown ups are coming to see her. They all describe her in strange ways – a treasure, a ray of sunshine, a dimply dumpling. But if she is a ray of sunshine, why is it raining? Granny called me her dimply dumpling…so can you have two dimply dumplings in a family? These terms of endearment are confusing- especially if, as a young child might do, they are interpreted literally. But it doesn’t matter because an older sister knows exactly what her baby sister is. Well, a snuggly bunny of course – and a perfect sister

This is a fun book with a very positive take on that familiar situation- the arrival of a new baby. Here there are no tantrums rather an enjoyable play with language that taps into the imagination. Yasmeen Ismail’s quirky illustrations enhance this text. Her bold use of line and colour bring this little girl to life as she strides across the page, waves her cutlass in the air, races on her bicycle with that special delivery. Her smile is infectious – as infectious as the humour in the text. This is a book to raise a smile; an affirmation of a new family member rather than a traumatic experience and it is all the more welcome for that.