BOOKS

A Song for My Sister by Lesley Simpson, Tatjana Mai-Wyss

A Song for My Sister by Lesley Simpson
Illustrated by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Genre: Children’s Picture Book – New Baby, Sisters
Ages 4 to 7, Grades P to 2
Pages: 32 Hardcover
Date Published: June 26th, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

WAAAAA! When Mira’s wish for a sister at long last comes true, she’s thrilled—but the new baby isn’t exactly what she expected. Who knew someone so little could make so much noise! No matter what Mira or her parents do to soothe or amuse her, the baby’s reaction is . . . WAAAAA!

On the day of her simchat bat, her Jewish naming ceremony, the baby cries–as usual! That is, until Mira steps close to offer her own special gift and the inspiration for her parents’ choice of the perfect name.

Lesley Simpson’s tale of a family adjusting to a welcome change is sweet and sassy and very funny. It’s a universal story about families and siblings, as well as a glimpse into a lovely Jewish ritual for welcoming baby girls to the family and the community.

Having two daughters in my house now I cannot help fall over books with sisters, add to that it is a book about a new baby sister and it is just right for us right now as AppleBlossom is adjusting to her new OrangeBlossom sibling. This book also has a value of teaching about a Jewish culture and rite of passage which AppleBlossom would not be familiar with. I love being able to expose her to what is out there for other families, as ours is a Christian home. The illustrations through out are absolutely gorgeous and very appealing to look at. I am quite certain I could stare for a while just browsing the story through the pictures and I believe AppleBlossom would as well. While I was surprised to see a female Rabbi, I think it’s interesting and another thing of introduction for different people different places. Through A Song for My Sister, this is my first introduction to both Lesley Simpson and Tatjana Mai-Wyss, but not my last, as I will look for both of them in future publications.

*Thanks to Random House Books for Young Readers for loaning a digital edition for review through Edelwiess.*

LESLEY SIMPSON’s secret fantasy is to sing! In the real world, she has worked as a reporter, feature writer, and columnist for Canadian daily newspapers, as well as an associate producer for CBC Radio. In her other writing life, Lesley is the author of The Hug, The Shabbat Box, and Yuvi’s Candy Tree. She lives with her family in Toronto, Canada, but you can visit her anytime at LesleySimpson.ca

Growing up with her nose in a book, TATJANA MAI-WYSS always wanted to be the one to draw the pictures, so she became an artist. While working on the art for A Song for My Sister, she looked to her two daughters for inspiration. Tatjana’s illustrations have been published in books and magazines in the United States and abroad. Originally from Switzerland, she now lives in sunny South Carolina.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

(No spam, I promise. Just creative madness ramblings, reviews and life-stories, with quilting and cross stitch inspiration in between!)

14 Shares

The Creative Madness Mama also known as Margaret is a Christian Stay-at-home Mama, married to the Enginerd, quilter, cross stitcher, avid reader and book-a-holic. As book blogger for various publicists, she loves to share the latest and greatest about books coming out as well as her needle art and other crafty projects with some pictures of her fourteen-year-old AppleBlossom, twelve-year-old OrangeBlossom (the Princess), nine-year-old Almond Blossom (the Rascal boy!), six-year-old (red) Mermaid Warrior, the four-and-a-half-year-old Viking Dragon, and Huckleberry (due in June 2024!) in between. Homeschooling, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, babywearing, bone broth brewing, tea drinking, list making mama full of a little creative and a lot of madness.

Leave a creative madness thought...

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.