bookshelf

THE SELFISH SISTER

Name: THE SELFISH SISTER
Author: David Sedaris
ISBN: 9781662665752

by David Sedaris ; illustrated by Bob Staake ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2026

Blessedly bad behavior gets its day in the sun, and we are HERE for it!

bookshelf

Wit snaps and crackles in humorist Sedaris’ tale of narcissism run amok.

“The selfish sister, pronoun ‘she,’ // only thinks of / me me me!” A green-skinned, one-toothed little tyrant, complete with her own tiny crown, terrorizes one and all with her insufferable greed and many demands. Yet Sedaris’ deft rhymes make listening to her mandates an utter treat. She declares that she deserves to own an endless list of items, including but not limited to “the lesser Black Tailed Gull, / the human race, / this monkey skull, / beebop hits, / a jazz CD, / the flag that means LGBT.” A lesser artist might quail at the sheer variety of objects, concepts, and even seasons that this little despot lays claim to, but Staake is more than up to the challenge. Inventive stylings in pen and ink give this retro-looking tale some visual panache and a particularly contemporary bit of brazen appeal. Unlike with Sedaris’ previous foray into picture books (2024’s Pretty Ugly, illustrated by the late Ian Falconer), here he opts to include a smidgen of a lesson at the end of the tale, off-handedly mentioning that the sister has everything she could want, except for friends. Thankfully, this mic drop of a conclusion avoids any danger of didacticism.

Blessedly bad behavior gets its day in the sun, and we are HERE for it! (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 17, 2026

ISBN: 9781662665752

Page Count: 40

Publisher: TOON Books/Astra Books for Young Readers

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
PRETTY UGLY
by David Sedaris ; illustrated by Ian Falconer

bookshelf

WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A MOM

by Gregory R. Lange ; illustrated by Sydney Hanson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2019

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned.

bookshelf

All the reasons why a daughter needs a mother.

Each spread features an adorable cartoon animal parent-child pair on the recto opposite a rhyming verse: “I’ll always support you in giving your all / in every endeavor, the big and the small, / and be there to catch you in case you should fall. / I hope you believe this is true.” A virtually identical book, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad, publishes simultaneously. Both address standing up for yourself and your values, laughing to ease troubles, being thankful, valuing friendship, persevering and dreaming big, being truthful, thinking through decisions, and being open to differences, among other topics. Though the sentiments/life lessons here and in the companion title are heartfelt and important, there are much better ways to deliver them. These books are likely to go right over children’s heads and developmental levels (especially with the rather advanced vocabulary); their parents are the more likely audience, and for them, the books provide some coaching in what kids need to hear. The two books are largely interchangeable, especially since there are so few references to mom or dad, but one spread in each book reverts to stereotype: Dad balances the two-wheeler, and mom helps with clothing and hair styles. Since the books are separate, it aids in customization for many families.

New parents of daughters will eat these up and perhaps pass on the lessons learned. (Picture book. 4-8, adult)

Pub Date: May 1, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-4926-6781-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Review Posted Online: March 16, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S HOLIDAYS & CELEBRATIONS

bookshelf

ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

bookshelf

Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)