ROHAN AND NYRA AND BIG SISTER'S BET

Delauney’s picture book uses a bond between siblings to showcase a life lesson.

Rohan is a young boy eagerly awaiting a visit from his older sister, Nyra. (Civati’s full-color cartoon illustrations show Nyra using a wheelchair, and Rohan isn’t; both have brown skin.) Upon Nyra’s arrival, the pair go outside to toss around the brand-new football that she brought. She tells Rohan that for every ball he catches in a row, he will get one dollar, but if he drops it even once, he’ll get nothing. Rohan plays for a long time and gets more confident, but he inevitably tires and drops the ball. The lesson Nyra teaches him is to not become tempted to the point of losing everything—a complex concept that can be loosely linked to gambling awareness and financial literacy. The narration rhymes, and Nyra speaks in rhyming couplets multiple times, which some readers may find cloying and unlike how real-life conversations flow: “ ‘I have a gift,’ Nyra said, reaching into her pack. / ‘I wasn’t sure if you wanted it in brown or black.’ ” Still, Nyra and Rohan are shown to have a sweet relationship, and he trusts his older sister to explain difficult things.

A fine family story with a subtle but important message.