Book Description
for Dee Dee and Me by Amy Schwartz
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Hannah's older sister, Dee Dee, takes whatever she wants, and takes over when she can. Assigning roles to play in games of pretend she always gives the best ones to herself. When Hannah's friend Patsy comes to play, Dee Dee monopolizes Patsy's time. Dee even cuts apart Hannah's pretty apron to make a purse. Enough is enough! Hannah refuses to play with Dee Dee and spends an enjoyable morning on her own. Then there's a knock on her door. It's Dee Dee. She's replaced the missing eye on Hannah's beloved Brown Bear, and she wants to play. Amy Schwartz acknowledges the reality of being bossed and overwhelmed by an older sibling in a story that has satisfying elements of repetition within a narrative that shows two sisters who both are more than they first appear. Reaching her limit helps Hannah assert herself, negotiating new terms for their play, while Dee Dee reveals a more generous side she'd had little incentive to show. Colorful, clean-lined illustrations add to the child-appeal. (Ages 3-7)
CCBC Choices 2014. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2014. Used with permission.