Whatever Happened to My Sister?

Younger children often find an older sibling’s sudden metamorphosis into a teenager perplexing, and the little girl in this picture book is convinced that her sister has been replaced by someone else who looks just like her. What else could explain the fact that she doesn’t want anything to do with her little sister anymore, that ‘no’ has become her favourite word, that her dress sense has become very strange, and that she hides in her room behind a closed door? Besides, there are all those boys … The little girl is sad because the two of them used to be close and have great fun together. One day when big sister finds little sister crying over the way things used to be, she gathers her up into her room and they share once again music and clothes and fun, and big sister realises that her younger sibling can share her more adult interests. As a gentle and understanding growing-up story, this cannot be bettered. Perceptive and beautifully realised, the illustrations are of an exceptional quality, the colours mute with a soft crayon-like effect, but full of expressive faces and detail that the text alone cannot possibly emulate. Ciraolo is a new talent and definitely one to watch.