Brothers and Sisters

by Laura Dwight

Like most brothers and sisters, the siblings in this book play together, compete with each other, and help one another. In Brothers and Sisters , we meet a number of sibling groups in which at least one member has a physical disability. This book shows that having a sibling with a disability is not so different from having a sibling without a disability.

Includes a glossary and list of resources.

IBBY 2007 Outstanding Books Catalog & Exhibition

Genres: Childrens, Cultural

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so happy to find a non-fiction text that uses photographs and the narratives of children to tell their own stories of family. In short 4-6 page narratives, we meet siblings living with congenital amputations, Asperger's, blindness, Down Syndrome, deafness and hearing impairment, and cerebral palsy. The book shows children being children -- laughing, playing, arguing, and loving. The six featured families also reflect many other differences, including families reflecting different racial and ethnic backgrounds, with 2 or 3 children, using different languages to communicate (English, Spanish, Arabic, and ASL), and of different ages (ranging from two to thirteen years old). And the book also reflects a range of assistive aids and assistive technology (including prostheses, orthotics, wheelchairs, computers, communication boards, Braille, canes, closed captioning, TTYs, etc.) and support services (physical therapy, speech therapy, ASL interpretation, etc.) for persons with disabilities. Plus, the book includes a glossary and resource list to offer readers access to additional information.

I was also grateful that two of the narratives included children with disabilities talking about their own experiences. However, in these two stories, both children talked about a sibling with a more severe disability than their own. I have some concern that the text doesn't disrupt our society's larger pattern of silencing the voices of people with disabilities. I think the text works best when paired with other narratives in which children (or adults) with disabilities talk with authority about their own lives.

This is a resource I wish I'd had when I was teaching in an integrated preschool with disabilities program over a decade ago. But, I'm glad I have it now and can use it in my classroom of typically developing students so that we can all know more about the people that make up our families and our communities.

[Tandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brothers and Sisters is similar to We Can Do It. It was a good informational text for not only children but adults as well. The book is about a few different siblings with disabilities. They have brothers and sisters that are there to help them and they understand the condition their sibling has; they may have a disability as well. Nothing stops these children and they live good healthy lives just like any other child. I like that. The story is interesting and children would like it because it describes children around their age and lists all the fun things that children do. Children will be able to identify all the fun things that they themselves do in their daily lives and begin to understand that no one is exceptional. Since the book is full of conditions that children may not know about, it can trigger questions for them. It is very age appropriate and very realistic. The pictures in the book corresponds with the text and they will hold the children's interest while the text is being read. Another wonderful thing about this book is that the characters represent a variety of cultural groups. All of the children are different ethnicities and come from different backgrounds.

[Maddie Adams]

Brothers and Sisters by Laura Dwight is a book celebrating family. This book introduces sets of siblings, each set having one sibling that has a physical disability. And yet just like any other sibling relationship, they still play together, read books, watch movies and help each other out. And yes even argue. Having a disability does not define the relationship of family.

I really did like this book. I also really appreciated it. It tugged on my heart strings. The use of real people for the pictures still kind of threw me off, but the pictures were all actually sweet and helped me picture the family unit by obviously actually showing me the family. It also kind of helped give a sense of the children's differing conditions.

For educational purposes this book would be great for educating a group of kids on disabilities and how to be more aware of them if they happen to encounter someone with one. To teach kids that disabilities do not define a person is so important. The need to love and respect EVERY human being no matter what, is crucial and also a quality of a kind human being. A quality of Christ. We want our kids to possess those very qualities.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that depicts different groups of brothers and sisters, some of whom have physical and/or mental disabilities. The siblings are shown together, playing, reading, hanging out together and the disabilities are presented in a matter of fact way, not as a defining part of their relationship. It's a good book to read with a child who may not understand why a person may be different or that they are still able to live and love(and irritate their sibling) like everyone else.

[Cherina · Rating 4 out of 5]

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