HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEWBook: The Sister Exchange
Author: Kevin McNamee
Illustrator: Kit Grady
Publisher: Guardian Angel Publishing Inc., 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-61633-015-6 (print)
ISBN-13: 978-1-61633-016-3 (eBook)
Related websites: www.kevinmcnamee.com (author), www.kevschildrensbooks.com (book), www.kitgrady.com (illustrator), www.guardianangelpublishing.com (publisher)
Language level: 1 (nothing objectionable)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Rating: 5 stars (EXCELLENT)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
For more information e-mail homeschoolbookreview@gmail.com
McNamee, Kevin. The Sister Exchange (published in 2009 by Guardian Angel Publishing Inc., 12430 Tesson Ferry Rd. #186, St. Louis, MO 63128). Do you, or when you were small did you, have a sister or brother who bugged you to death? Brianna wants her younger sister Julianne to stop bothering her. Ever since Julianne was born, she has followed Brianna around like a shadow, and Brianna has decided that something needs to be done about it. So she asks her mom if she can have a new sister—not to get another baby sister, but to trade in the one she has, like her friend Jenna’s parents traded their car for a better one. Mom picks up the phone, calls “The Sister Exchange,” and tells Brianna about all the kinds of sisters they might have for her. Which one will she choose?
Having had a younger brother when I was growing up, and being the father of two sons, I have lots of personal experience with the problem of sibling rivalry. It always saddens me to hear of brothers and sisters who grow up to have such a falling out that they never speak to one another again. Author Kevin McNamee’s delightful story combines with illustrator Kit Grady’s humorous drawings to encourage children in developing, maintaining, and appreciating the relationships that they sustain with a sister or a brother that can result in a lifetime of enjoyment and comradeship. Would you prefer a sister who literally chats your ears off, who snores your bed off the floor, or whose feet are so stinky they’ll peel paint off the walls—or the one you have? As kids today say, that’s a no-brainer!
