- Paperback: 24 pages
- Publisher: Collins (1 Jan 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0064432173
- ISBN-13: 978-0064432177
- Product Dimensions: 25.1 x 20.2 x 0.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 361,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
Two sisters come to realize how important they are to each other.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Once there was a big sister and a little sister. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Once there was a big sister and a little sister. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Me and my sis used to have this book when we were little. Then we didn't understand the message of it. She mentioned it the other day by chance whilst she was answering one of those strange e-mail question things. Her comments were.. normal or special? Special, she's my big sis! then commented about this book that we used to have.......
When you are younger it is a lovely book to read but it's not until your older you really know what it means! In fact I'm going to see if I have our old copy and if not I'm going to get one!
When you are younger it is a lovely book to read but it's not until your older you really know what it means! In fact I'm going to see if I have our old copy and if not I'm going to get one!
Format:Paperback
This is just a beautiful book for three to six year olds. Beautiful pictures and a story that children, in particular girls, can really relate to.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
24 reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Feed the literary impulse
4 April 2002
Format:Paperback
This is perhaps one of the greatest picture books ever written, and is much, much more than a tool for assuaging sibling rivalry in two girl families. With a perfect ear for read-aloud prose, and a finely balanced sense of the perspective of a child, Zolotow invites the youngest listeners to savor the pleasures of literature.
We are introduced to big sister at the outset, who always takes care of little sister. But the heart of the story lies in little sister's small act of rebellion on a day when she grows tired of big sister always telling her what to do. Although the story is nominally about a little sister learning from her older sister such that "the two of them can take care of each other", it is the heart of the story that moves this tale out of the usual wretched and formulaic child's self-help lesson and into the realm of true literature. For not only does little sister run away from big sister, but when big sister comes calling for her in the meadow, little sister doesn't respond at all. Not only that, but we get a full two pages of little sister's quiet, existential reflections on the nature of being alone and in pondering what she has just done. This is the true heart of the story. How can a reader/listener not respond to the willfulness of little sister's unkindness, and yet fully understand the joys of being alone and feeling the grass under your knees while bumblebees buzz overhead? It is in identifying with these conflicting and ambiguous feelings that the young reader feels, perhaps for the first time, a frisson of bittersweet pleasure that will hook them on the joys of reading good books for life.
Of course little sister finally relents after she sees big sister break down and cry, but thankfully Zolotow doesn't give an adult resolution to the story. The answer to big sister's reproach, "Why did you run away?" is immaterial, and lemonade is the order of the day.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Brings Back Memories
24 Nov 1999
Format:Paperback
About 25 years ago, this was a book that my mother would read to my older sister and me who are a year apart in age. I can remember being reduced to tears at the mere thought of being separated from my big sister. Now, my big sister has three daughters of her own, and I am on a quest to pass along this book which meant so much in the eyes of a little sister so many years ago. This is truly a timeless book for sisters!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Tears me up every time :)
24 Aug 2008
Format:Paperback
This is such a realistic story, and sweet as well.
We have two sisters. The older one, like older sisters everywhere, is very protective of her younger sister. She doesn't jump rope, or go to school, or sew a button without making sure her sister is safe. And her sister lets her, until one day she's tired of having cookies and lemonade managed for her, and tired of being told how to do things and when.
So she leaves. She leaves her house, and her block, and goes right to an empty field where she lies down and thinks about things for a while.
And when her worried big sister comes out the door, the little one stays still and doesn't answer, and doesn't answer, until her older sister sits right down and cries.
At this point the little sister does just the right thing, which she's learned from her older sister. And as they go home, we're told that they now protected each other, and I cry.
It's just a very sweet story, one I really recommend for any sister.
We have two sisters. The older one, like older sisters everywhere, is very protective of her younger sister. She doesn't jump rope, or go to school, or sew a button without making sure her sister is safe. And her sister lets her, until one day she's tired of having cookies and lemonade managed for her, and tired of being told how to do things and when.
So she leaves. She leaves her house, and her block, and goes right to an empty field where she lies down and thinks about things for a while.
And when her worried big sister comes out the door, the little one stays still and doesn't answer, and doesn't answer, until her older sister sits right down and cries.
At this point the little sister does just the right thing, which she's learned from her older sister. And as they go home, we're told that they now protected each other, and I cry.
It's just a very sweet story, one I really recommend for any sister.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Children's Books > Education > Baby & Toddler > Picture Books
- Books > Children's Books > Fiction > Issues > Social
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
