GRACE AND KATIE

Two sisters, both passionate about drawing but with very different aesthetics, learn the value of collaboration.

Both Katie and Grace, who look to be fraternal, bespectacled white twins, love to draw. Straight-haired Grace’s drawings are filled with straight lines, squares, and angles, while curly-locked Katie favors patterns, squiggles, and swirls. Grace thinks that Katie’s drawings need to be more organized, while Katie thinks that Grace’s drawings need to be more exciting. Could they both be right? One day, Grace decides to create a map of their home. Katie is curious and asks if she can help. Grace turns her sister down, and none too kindly. Katie decides to make her own map. Both set to work. A pair of two-page spreads shows Grace’s map, full of small details and drawn in black and white on graph paper. Grace is pleased but still feels that there’s something missing. Katie, meanwhile, has continued to draw, using all her colored pens and adding the park that’s across the street. Both girls find something missing in the other’s work. After a long look, each goes to work on the other’s drawing. Katie adds colorful touches to Grace’s map, and Grace gives Katie’s map more structure. In the end, collaboration wins out. Anelli’s intricate illustrations effectively drive home Merritt’s message, evoking the protagonists’ varied styles effectively while maintaining the childlike look of both.

A pleasant hymn to sisterly cooperation.