April 10 – Sibling Day

Happy Happy Sibling Day!

Many, many years ago, my father did something very special for my siblings and me.  He went to the bank and got two two-dollar bills.  When he brought them home, he sat me, my brothers, and my sister down and had a little talk with us about family.  He reminded us that no matter where we were or what we were doing, we always had each other.  And then to demonstrate, he showed us the two-dollar bills and tore them in half.  He gave each half to each of us and told us to save them, because if you have your brother or sister you’ll always have at least a dollar between you. I’ll never forget that story, and thankfully I still have my brothers and sister, we have never had to cash in our two-dollar bills, and we are still extremely close.  Thanks, dad!

Now, on to some literary siblings….

Marc Brown has written and illustrated a series of Arthur and DW books.  Starting with Arthur’s Nose, in 1976, he has written everything from picture books to chapter books.  Everyone loves Arthur and his precocious little sister D.W. His latest book Arthur Turns Green, was published in 2011. 

Jan and Stan Berenstain have written and illustrated their own series of the Berenstain Bear family since 1974.  Mama Bear, Papa Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear live in a treehouse and have typical family adventures. Report Card Trouble was published in 2002.

 Mercer Mayer started writing and illustrating Little Critter stories in 1975.  Little Critter’s sister was born in 1985.  His latest Little Critter story, Just a Big Storm, was published in 2013.

So call your brother, hug your sister, and read an old or new picture book about siblings today.