National Sisters’ Day!

National Sisters’ Day occurs on August 4th, 2024, so this month we are celebrating the relationship between sisters. In this month’s S-Collection blog, we are highlighting books featuring stories that explore the different facets of sisterhood. Sometimes having a sister feels like having an automatic best friend and supporter. Other times, sisters can clash, change, or have secrets come between them. Sisterhood is complicated. This collection of picture books, middle grade books, and young adult novels invites readers to delve into the complexities of sisterhood and accompany sisters as they share in adventures ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary.

Picture Books

Goth, Shane
Illustrated by: Yong Ling Kang
The Midnight Club. 2021. Picture Book.
Sisters Milly and Becca are both members of the Midnight Club. Tonight is Milly’s first adventure! The sisters sit in Dad’s big chair, try on Mom’s coat, eat jellybeans, and overcome their fear of a scary shadow. There is so much fun to be had in the middle of the night! As their adventure ends, the sisters put away any evidence of their shenanigans. Remember, the most important rule of the midnight club is that the club must remain a secret.
Q.SE. G711mi

Hager, Jenna Bush & Barbara Bush
Illustrated by: Romona Kaulitzki
Sisters First. 2019. Picture Book.
A little girl’s wish is granted when her new sister comes into the world. While her baby sister cannot do much, the sisters become inseparable. As they grow together, the sisters are constantly laughing, dancing, and playing. With their wild imaginations, the sisters learn that they are better together than they ever were apart.
Q.SE.H1222si

Kokias, Kerri
Illustrated by: Teagan White
Snow Sisters! 2018. Picture Book.
It’s a snow day! Each sister approaches the day in their own way, with one playing in the snow and the other enjoying the indoors. As their day progresses, their roles reverse. Each sister gets to spend their days exploring the joys of a snow day both outside and inside.
SE. K8295sn

Miura, Tomo
Little Sisters. 2024. Picture Book.
What would it be like to have a little sister? An only child imagines what her life would be like if she had a little sister or many little sisters. They could play hide-and-seek, build towers, share a treat, and jump on the sofa. As each scenario plays out, more little sisters appear — until all the sisters disappear, and the only child is once again alone. This book is full of joy and mischief as our main character questions what life would be like with more siblings around.
SE. M692pe:E

Middle Grade

Fawcett, Heather
The Islands of Elsewhere. 2023. Middle Grade.
The Snolly sisters are staying with their grandfather for the summer. Their grandfather’s property is home to the three mysterious Fairy Islands: Fairy, Little Fairy, and Ghost. The locals of Misty Cove claim that the islands are full of magic. Unbothered by the potential magic, ten-year-old Bee Snolly is more focused on helping her ill grandfather. As the Snolly sisters’ journey into the Fairy Islands, they may discover a secret that can help them all.
S.F281is

Johnson, Varian
Illustrated by: Shannon Wright
Twins. 2020. Middle Grade Graphic Novel.
Sisters are forever, right? Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends. They do everything together from school projects to after-school clubs. Things begin to change as the girls move into sixth grade. Suddenly, Francine starts going by Fran and starts participating in things that would set her apart from Maureen. It seems like the sisters are growing apart and there is nothing that Maureen can do to stop it. Will their transition into middle school change their relationship forever?
S. 741.5973 J638tw

Kim, Graci
The Last Fallen Star. 2021. Middle Grade.
Riley Oh’s family is a part of a powerful lineage of Korean healing witches called the Gom clan. Her sister, Hattie, is finally going to be initiated into the clan. Riley is so excited to follow in her sister’s footsteps and participate in the clan. Unfortunately, Riley is adopted. She does not possess the heritage magic. Riley’s lack of magic makes her feel alienated from her family. Hattie, wanting to share her magic with her sister, comes up with a plan. This plan involves an old family spell book, breaking ancient laws, and puts the sisters’ lives at risk. When things go wrong, it is up to Riley to save her sister and find out what it means to be a witch.
S. K5602gcla

Zahler, Diane
Goblin Market. 2022. Middle Grade.
Lizzie and Minka are complete opposites. Lizzie is shy and sensitive, while Minka is outgoing and cheerful. One day, Minka meets a boy, Emil, at the market and is immediately charmed. Minka falls ill after eating a strange fruit given to her by Emil and is taken into the home of the goblins, the dark forest. It is up to Lizzie to find Emil and save her sister before it is too late. Inspired by Polish folklore, this fantasy-horror book captivates readers with its detailed world building and timeless tale of saving a loved one from hidden dangers.
S. Z133go

Young Adult

McCullough, Joy; Sharpe, Tess; Spotswood, Jessica; Richmond, Caroline Tung
Great or Nothing. 2022. Young Adult.
Set in the spring of 1942, this Little Women retelling is told from each March sister’s point of view as they experience loss, love, and self-discovery. The story takes place after the death of the youngest March sister, Beth. This loss creates intense tension between the remaining family members and pushes the March sisters away from one another. With each point of view written by a different author, this retelling sheds a different light to an already classic story about the trials and tribulations of sisterhood.
S. M13952gr

Tian, Xixi
This Place is Still Beautiful. 2022. Young Adult.
Annalie and Margaret agree on only one thing, that they have nothing in common. Margaret is ambitious, driven, and has a passion for social justice. She could not wait to escape her small town. Annalie is sweet, popular, and loves that town that she grew up in. Until, one day Annalie comes home to find a racial slur painted on her family’s house. Margaret comes home, outraged by the incident. She expects her family to take a stand on the issue but finds that they would rather forget about the event entirely. Tensions rise between the sisters and untold secrets threaten to tear them apart. A complicated story about family and sisterhood that will captivate readers until the very end.
S. T429th

[KO]

Boys and Girls: Pranks, Friends, and Family

August’s blog is a bibliography of books that look at different interactions between boys and girls. These books feature boys versus girls (usually in a prank war or competition of some sort), boys and girls as good friends or teammates, and boys and girls as siblings. It does not focus on boyfriend/girlfriend relationship books.

Books that have call numbers beginning with “S.” are chapter books, while books with call numbers beginning with a “SE.” are picture books. Books with the location Education S Collection can be found in room 106 of the Education and Social Science Library. Education Storage books can be requested through the reference desk or online, and Education Oak St Facility books must be requested through the online catalog.
Boys vs. Girls

Collins, Yvonne and Sandy Rideout.
Girl v. Boy. 2008.
Sixteen-year-old Lu Perez epitomizes her school’s lack of spirit, but as an anonymous columnist reporting on a fundraising competition that pits school against school and boy against girl, she and her co-columnist engage in a battle of the sexes with huge ramifications.
[Education S Collection S. C6973g]

DiPucchio, Kelly.
Grace for President. 2008.
When Grace discovers that there has never been a female U.S. president, she decides to run for school president. Her competitor Tom decides he will win because he thinks all of the other boys will vote for him and there are more boys than girls in their class. While Tom sits back and waits to win, Grace campaigns.
[Education S Collection Q. SE. D626g]

Green, Connie Jordan.
The War at Home. 1989.
Living in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where her father is involved in a secret government project in the final months of World War II, thirteen-year-old Mattie carries on a constant debate with her twelve-year-old cousin Virgil about the relative merits of boys versus girls.
[Education Oak St Facility S.G824W]

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds.
The Boys Start the War; The Girls Get Even. 1994.
Disgusted that a family with three girls moves into the house across the river, nine-year-old Wally and his three brothers declare a practical joke war on the girls. This is a two-in-one book of the first two books of the Boys Against Girls series.
[Education Storage S.N234bo]

Seuling, Barbara.
Robert and the Practical Jokes. 2006.
As a boys-versus-girls war of practical jokes escalates in his third-grade classroom, Robert finds it difficult to ask a girl’s help in learning to dance in time for a family wedding reception.
[Education Storage S. Se81rop]

Wittlinger, Ellen.
This Means War. 2010.
In 1962, when her best friend Lowell begins to hang around new friends who think girls are losers, Juliet, a fearful fifth-grader, teams up with bold, brave Patsy who challenges the boys to a series of increasingly dangerous contests.
[Center for Children’s Books S. W786t]

Yee, Lisa.
Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally). 2009.
When Bobby inadvertently gets into a fight with his best friend Holly, their disagreement develops into a boys versus girls war involving their whole fourth-grade class.
[Education S Collection S. Y352b]
Boys and Girls as Teammates/Working Together

Carter, Ally.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy. 2007.
Cammie Morgan is a CIA legacy and attends the premier school in the world… for female spies. When the school hosts guests from a male spy school, Cammie and her friends must work with the guys while figuring out if they are friends or foes.
[Education S Collection S. C2452c]

Gifford, Peggy Elizabeth.
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little. 2007.
With summer coming to an end, about-to-be-fourth-grader Moxy Maxwell does a hundred different things to avoid reading her assigned summer reading book. Her best friend Sam acts as her sidekick.
[Education S Collection S. G366mo]

Maxwell, B.E.
The Faerie Door. 2008.
Victoria Deveny is transported from her Northumberland, England, home in 1890 to 1964 Alton Bay, New Hampshire, where she meets Elliot Good and they agree to help the Faerie Queen defeat the Shadow Knight, who is trying to close the portals that allow fairies to help humans in time of need.
[Education S Collection S. M451f]

Pattison, Darcy.
19 Girls and Me. 2006.
John Hercules is worried about being the only boy in his kindergarten class, but after the first week he stops worrying.
[Education Storage Q. SE. P278n]

Pullman, Philip.
The Subtle Knife. 1997.
In book two of the His Dark Materials series, the boundaries between worlds begin to dissolve and Lyra and her daemon help Will Parry in his search for his father and for a powerful, magical knife. These two characters remain intertwined in the last book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass.
[Education S Collection S. P967th]

Stewart, Trenton Lee.
The Mysterious Benedict Society. 2007.
After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.
[Uni High Fiction St49m; Center for Children’s Books S. St49m]
Male and Female Siblings

Blume, Judy.
Soupy Saturdays with The Pain and The Great One. 2007.
These stories deal with the sometimes challenging relationship between a six-year-old (The Pain) and his eight-year-old sister (The Great One) through seven chapters featuring events such as learning to ride a bicycle, having a birthday party, and dog sitting. The siblings argue in one chapter and help each other out in the next. Some chapters also feature the characters separately.
[Education Storage S. B625su]

Creech, Sharon.
Ruby Holler. 2002.
Thirteen-year-old fraternal twins Dallas and Florida have grown up in a terrible orphanage but their lives change forever when an eccentric but sweet older couple invites them each on an adventure, beginning in an almost magical place called Ruby Holler.
[Education S Collection S.C861r]

James, Brian.
The Heights. 2009.
Told from their different points of view, sixteen-year-old Catherine and her adopted Mexican American brother, Henry, agonize over the loss of their uniquely close relationship when their prejudiced older brother and sister-in-law return after a family tragedy, determined to drive Henry away from the family’s San Francisco home.
[Education S Collection S. J2316h]

Osborne, Mary Pope.
A Good Night for Ghosts. 2009.
Jack and Annie must travel back in time to New Orleans in 1915 to help a teenaged Louis Armstrong fulfill his destiny and become the “King of Jazz.” This is book #42 in the Magic Tree House series, in which Jack and Annie work together to travel through books and time to solve mysteries.
[Education S Collection S. Os17g]

Snicket, Lemony.
The Bad Beginning. 1999.
After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune. This is the first book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series.
[Education S Collection S. Sn31b]

Warner, Gertrude Chandler.
The Dog-Gone Mystery. 2009.
When they take their dog, Watch, for obedience training, the Alden children discover that some of the dogs in the class have vanished and decide to try to solve the mystery of their disappearance. The Boxcar Children series follows two brothers and two sisters as they solve mysteries.
[Education S Collection S. W244d]

Sibling Rivalry

Conflict between siblings is a universal theme. Stories about famous siblings from Cain and Abel to Venus and Serena Williams have captivated people throughout the centuries.
The following books explore the frustrations of sharing Mom and Dad’s attention, dealing with annoying younger brothers and sisters, and learning to appreciate each other.
Picture Books
Broach, Elise
What the No-Good Baby is Good For. 2005.
Tired of all the trouble his no-good baby sister causes, John tells his mother the baby has to go and she agrees, but as John packs the baby’s suitcase, he realizes there are some things he likes about his sister, too.
[Education S Collection: SE. B781w]

Enderle, Judith Ross.
Smile, Principessa! 2007.
A sister is jealous when her baby brother starts getting all the attention in the family photographs.
[Education S Collection: SE. En217s]

Henkes, Kevin
Julius the Baby of the World. 1989.
Lilly is convinced that the arrival of her new baby brother is the worst thing that has happened in their house until Cousin Garland comes to visit.
[Education Storage: SE. H389JU]

Palatini, Margie
Broom Mates. 2003.
Gritch the Witch is not pleased when her sister, Mag the Hag, shows up early for the party.
[Education Storage: Q. SE. P172b]

Polacco, Patricia
My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother. 1994.
After losing running, climbing, throwing, and burping competitions to her obnoxious older brother, a young girl makes a wish on a falling star.
[Education S Collection: Q. SE. P757mb]

Potter, Giselle
Chloe’s Birthday . . . and Me. 2004.
When attention must be paid to her little sister Chloe’s birthday, Giselle, who lives with her family in France, makes inappropriate gift suggestions and almost spoils the big day.
[Education Storage: SE. P852c]

Reynolds, Peter
The Best Kid in the World. 2006.
Jealous of her older brother’s “Best Kid in the World” medal, SugarLoaf tries to figure out how to get one for herself.
[Education S Collection: SE. R336b]
Middle Grades
Ash, Frank
Star Jumper: Journal of a Cardboard Genius. 2006
Alex, a self-proclaimed genius, invents a spaceship in order to escape his annoying younger brother in this humorous story.
[Education S Collection: S. As23s]

Avi
Never Mind! A Twin Novel. 2004.
Twelve-year-old New York City twins Meg and Edward have nothing in common, so they are just as shocked as everyone else when Meg’s hopes for popularity and Edward’s mischievous schemes coincidentally collide in a hilarious showdown.
[Education Storage: S. Av51nm]

Blume, Judy
Soupy Saturdays with The Pain and The Great One. 2007.
Revisits the sometimes challenging relationship between a six-year-old (The Pain) and his eight-year-old sister (The Great One) through seven chapters featuring such events as learning to ride a bicycle, having a birthday party, and dog-sitting.
[Education S Collection: S. B625su]

Cholodenko, Gennifer
Notes From a Liar and Her Dog. 2001.
Eleven-year-old Ant, stuck in a family that she does not like, copes by pretending that her “real” parents are coming to rescue her, by loving her dog Pistachio, by volunteering at the zoo, and by bending the truth and telling lies.
[Education Storage: S.C453n]

Davies, Jacqueline
The Lemonade War. 2007.
Evan and his younger sister, Jesse, react very differently to the news that they will be in the same class for fourth grade and as the end of summer approaches, they battle it out through lemonade stands, each trying to be the first to earn 100 dollars.
[Education S Collection: S. D2873l]

Hughes, Mark Peter
I Am the Wallpaper. 2005.
Thirteen-year-old Floey Packer, jealous of her attractive and popular older sister, shares her home with two younger cousins and experiences a summer vacation filled with embarrassing events, with herself as the star.
[Education S Collection: S. H874i]

McKissack, Patricia
Loved Best. 2005.
Who Is Loved Best? Because she’s the oldest and can do the most, Carolyn is sure she is loved the best. But then she begins to have doubts: Her mom spoils her little sister when she’s sick, her parents post her little brother’s perfect math quiz on the fridge but barely notice her own perfect paper, and they make a bigger fuss over her brother’s and sister’s small parts in the spring play than they do her speaking part. But when things don’t happen exactly as Carolyn expected, she learns an important lesson about what it means to be loved best.
[Education S Collection: S. M217lo]
Teens
Barrett, Tracy
Anna of Byzantium. 1999.
In the eleventh century the teenage princess Anna Comnena fights for her birthright, the throne to the Byzantine Empire, which she fears will be taken from her by her younger brother John because he is a boy.
[Education Storage: S.B2756a]

Cart, Michael, ed.
Necessary Noise: Stories About Our Families As They Really Are. 2003.
A collection of short stories about contemporary family life. Included are two stories on sibling rivalry, Norma Howe’s “Siskiyou Sloan and the Eye of the Giraffe” and Sonya Sones’s story in verse, “Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde.”
[Uni High: 813.08 N282]

Griffin, Adele
Where I Want To Be. 2004.
Two teenaged sisters, separated by death but still connected, work through their feelings of loss over the closeness they shared as children that was later destroyed by one’s mental illness, and finally make peace with each other.
[Education Storage: S. G875w]

Lieberg, Carolyn S.
West With Hopeless. 2004.
Bound for Reno and their divorced father for the summer, two half-sisters leave from Iowa in an old Ford Escort and learn a great deal about the people they encounter and even more about themselves. Carin has always traveled west on airplanes to spend her summers with Dad. But this year her loser half sister, Hope, has to drive, and Carin is stuck riding shotgun. Crazy strangers await them at every stop, and with the strangest one of all behind the wheel, Carin is sure they’re headed for disaster. Despite a bumpy start and some comical close calls, the trip becomes a journey of both miles and understanding. Keep one eye on the road and both hands on the wheel as you hit the highway with Carin and Hope, making memories at every turn.
[Center for Children’s Books: S. L621w]

Mazer, Norma Fox.
Three Sisters. 1986.
Karen’s misplaced romantic feelings for her sister Liz’s boyfriend threaten to alienate Liz, but a disturbing revelation from the third sister in the family promises to bind them all together again.
[Oak Street: 813 M457T]

Spinelli, Jerry
Who Put That Hair In My Toothbrush? 1984
The sibling rivalry between twelve-year-old Megin and her older brother Greg intensifies after she ruins his science project and he retaliates by throwing her favorite hockey stick into the pond.
[Education S-Collection: S. SP46W]

Tigelaar, Liz
Pretty Tough. 2007.
Two feuding sisters from Malibu, California, take their rivalry to the soccer field when both girls make the high school team.
[Education S Collection: S. T448p]