Water! Nya's Long Walk by Linda Sue Park

"Come on," Nya said. "Why are you slow today?"

"I'm tired." Akeer said.

Nya sighed. "I'll tell Mama," she said.

"Don't," Akeer begged. She started walking a little faster.

On the daily two-hour walk to a well, little Akeer is usually chipper and chatty, but this day her steps soon start to drag again. Nya tries singing a clapping song, and Akeer makes it to the well. The sisters have a long drink and rest for a few minutes before Nya picks up the now full jerry can and starts back toward home.

Suddenly Akeer plops down and begins to cry.

She looked up at Nya, her eyes very big.

Akeer was not a crybaby. Her cheeks were burning hot.

Akeer was sick.

Nya realizes that she must manage to carry Akeer and the water. She pours out more than half of the precious water, but still struggles to carry both.

|"I can't do it. It's too far," she thinks.

But she knows she must. She picks a goal, a tree or stump ahead and one at a time makes it to them. Then she begins to force herself to take just one more step and then another. Somehow she summons enough strength to reach her village, only to find that she must help her mother carry Akeer on a two-day trek to the health center, a step at a time.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," and in Newbery author Linda Sue Park's picture book adaptation of her noted best-seller, ( A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story) the just-published Nya's Long Walk: A Step at a Time (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Clarion, 2019) focuses on family devotion and the heroic endurance of her courageous characters. There's a heroism in grand deeds, but also in small ones, one footstep at a time, as in this moving story of a sister's love.

For primary graders, who may never have given a thought to easy access to a drink of clean water, Park's sensitive story of what some children face daily may come as a shock, and author Park doesn't fail to make her case for support for the mission of the NGO Water for South Sudan. Still, as a human story of family love and perseverance, this one is a tale well told. Caldecott artist Brian Pinkney's illustrations, done with minimalist figures and expressionistic portrayal of the dusty scrub land and dry windy landscape through which the two sisters toil their way, will prompt emotional reactions from primary graders--and a lot of questions.

Super Sister! Lucia the Luchadora and the Million Masks by Cynthia Leonor Garza

I BOLT THROUGH THE BACKYARD IN MY SILVER CAPE AND MASK,
MY LITTLE SISTER GEMMA CRASHING AFTER ME LIKE THUNDER!

SPLAT!

It's hard being a superhero with a little sister along who leaps in bib overalls and lands like a lummox!

In disgust, Lucia rips off her silver mask and tosses it on the grass.

And when she looks back, it's gone.

Lucia mounts a mask hunt, and finally finds it, along with little sister Gemma, in her treehouse. But Lucia is not happy to see it.

MY SISTER HAS MADE A GINORMOUS HOLE IN MY MASK!

Lucia tattles to her grandmother, who mends her mask and agrees that Gemma is wrong to ruin her big sister's things. But Abuela also points out that Gemma is just trying to be like her--a superhero! Gemma is not convinced that imitation is the highest form of flattery. She doesn't warm to Abuela's dictum that adventures are best shared, either. But she does like her grandmother's super idea.

ABU TAKES US TO THE MERCADO, A SPLENDIFEROUS MARKET!

There are mariachi music and fruit sweets there--and Mil Mascaras--lots and lots of masks! There is even a little lost kitten that Grandmother falls in love with, too--and they can keep it!

And perhaps when Gemma has her own mask, she will leave Lucia's alone. Perhaps the perfect mask will transform her clumsy little sister into a real superhero luchadora!

And then Lucia realizes that she has mask-lust, too. She takes off her old mask and tries on lots of new ones, each with its own possible super-special powers. But where is her old one? Lucia looks frantically through all the new ones! Is her silver mask lost forever? Lucia is near tears when little Gemma offers her own new mask!

Sometimes an energetic and adoring little sister can come in handy, in Cynthia Leonor Garza's Lucia the Luchadora and the Million Masks (POW Books, 2018),, and it looks like the shared adventures have already begun for Lucia and Gemma. Garza's super-story is illustrated in bright mercado colors in the vibrant spot-art and full-bleed pages painted by artist Allyssa Bermudez. Of this super sweet sister story, Kirkus says in its starred review, "Garza’s buoyant wordplay and delightful characters also continue to shine. Equally, Bermudez’s vibrant, action-packed pictures epitomize pure zany fun."

Mess Up! JoJo and the Big Mess by Jane O.Connor

Hi! I am JoJo. I make messes. I can't help it.

Nancy Clancy's little sister is a mess--a walking, talking mess, who leaves a trail of disorder behind her.

Nancy tries to teach JoJo how to make things. Making pasta sounds like fun, but JoJo seems to have a talent for sloshing the sauce and spilling the spaghetti. JoJo becomes er, SAUCY! OOPS!

Dad is mad.

Time to hit the tub! Heavy on the shampoo!

Okay, maybe if JoJo does something outside, it won't be such a fiasco! She puts on her fireman's hat and offers to wield the hose to water the flowers. Oops! Water and dirt = MUD!

Dad is mad.

He plops JoJo and Frenchie the dog into the plastic pool to get the worst of it off, and then it's inside for a proper bath for JoJo.

Can't this kid do something that doesn't require a trip to the tub?

Bree's little brother Freddy comes over to play, and Dad tells them to play someplace where it's dry. and please, no more messes! They head inside to JoJo's room, where a nice, dry pillow fight follows.

"Look!! Feathers are flying!"

Guess what? Dad is..., well, you know!

"CLEAN THIS MESS UP!"

It's back outdoors, where JoJo and Freddy decide on some finger painting on the picnic table. It's guaranteed to be messy, but at least it's easy to clean up, and when JoJo hands Dad her painting of a great big red heart, he's .... NOT MAD a bit, in Jane O'Connor's first I-Can-Read book about Fancy Nancy's younger sister, Fancy Nancy: JoJo and the Big Mess (My First I Can Read) (Harper, 2017). In this My-First-Reading book starring JoJo, the typeface is large and the words are few, and with Rick Whipple's comic illustrations filled with reading cues, the text is easy to sound out for emergent readers. For the youngest Fancy Nancy fans, this one is just what the reading specialist ordered, with most of the usual characters getting in on the action. Share this one with Fancy Nancy: JoJo and the Magic Trick (My First I Can Read) and to be fair to younger sisters, perhaps return to that first book about Nancy herself, Fancy Nancy, in which a trip to the ice cream shoppe turns into fancy fiasco for a fun look back at Clancy family history.

Los Angeles, 1965: It All Comes Down to This by Karen English

I trudged home to get my swimsuit. I went to find Mrs. Baylor to tell her where I was going. She was mopping the kitchen, and stopped and put her hand on her hip, waiting.

"I'm going swimming down at the Bakers'" I said.

"So they invited you to go swimming down at their house, did they?"

"Jennifer wants to go. She said it'll be okay." I replied.

"And you believe that, do you? Hummph." Mrs. Baylor kind of chuckled to herself. "You go on, girl. And see what happen to you. You not a little white girl. You going to see."

I knew I wasn't a little white girl. I knew who I was.

It's Los Angeles in 1965. Sophie's family has just moved into an upscale, mostly white neighborhood. She's found a best friend in Jennifer, whose family seems to have no color line. But Sophie's big sister Lily, about to head off to Spelman College, has warned her that she needs to find more than one friend, especially since Jennifer will be going to a different school in the fall. But it looks like the Baker sisters aren't going to be those friends.

"Hi, Jilly," Jennifer said. "Can we swim?"

Jilly crossed her arms. "You know we don't allow colored people in our pool--or in our house."

Although Jennifer refuses to stay without her, Sophie sees that those happy summer days at the pool are not for her. And when she studies hard to audition for a role in the Community Center play, she sees the role go to someone else, a white girl who scarcely knows any of the lines. Despite her light skin and their parents' incomes, Sophie sees that the color line still exists for her. And when Jennifer returns from camp with a new friendship with another girl, Sophie feels left out even more.

Then, when Mrs. Baylor's handsome college-age son Nathan comes to do some painting for her parents, Sophie is shocked when her mother tells Lily to stay away from him because he's too dark-skinned for her. It seems that even "colored people" have a color line. That's a new realization for Sophie, and it makes her see her parents' ambitions in a different light. And as the Watts riots of 1965 begin in Mrs. Baylor's neighborhood, Nathan is arrested when he drives through to check on a friend. Everything is turned upside down in Sophie's life. Despite their comfortable life in an upper-middle class suburb, Sophie notices that her light-skinned, straight-haired sister allows her employer to believe she is Jewish to keep her summer job in a tony downtown dress shop. Despite her own relatively fair skin, Sophie's sees her being turned away from a white neighbor's pool comes from the same place as her own mother's prejudice against Lily's dating her housekeeper's dark-skinned son and her obvious social climbing schemes among "suitable" families.

In her forthcoming novel, It All Comes Down to This (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017), author Karen English displays her unique ability to get into a character and tell the story from the inside out, in her character's distinctive voice. While the story is told through Sophie's eyes and narration, English also portrays Sophie's class-conscious mother, her unfaithful father, and the sometimes grumpy Mrs. Baylor sympathetically as flawed characters who love her and want the best for her as they see it.

But the focus on Sophie and Lily is pivotal for the reader. Set in 1965, Karen English's story may at first seem to young readers to be about a distant time, but they will immediately recognize many of the stresses Sophie faces, the usual events of early adolescence--a new neighborhood, a new school, a pretty older sister who seems better at everything, problems between well-meaning but self-absorbed parents--all of which are exacerbated by issues of race and class and social and political upheaval that encroach upon on her life. For Sophie and for English's readers, it all comes down to finding your own values in a time of social change, and English's deft statement of this theme adds depth to Sophie's coming-of-age story and makes this novel a timely and engrossing read for middle-schoolers of all ethnicities. While fully grounded in its sixties setting, this novel does not seem like historical fiction; all that is missing are cell phones to make this story fully believable in the present.

Sleepless! Fancy Nancy~Saturday Night Sleepover by Jane O'Connor

“WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THIS!

MY MOM JUST WON A WEEKEND AT THE
WHISPERING PINES RESORT.

A RESORT IS LIKE A MOTEL, ONLY FANCIER!”

That’s the good news. Nancy and JoJo are ready to start packing when Mom drops the bomb.

“UM....ACTUALLY ONLY DADDY GETS TO COME WITH ME.”

The bad news is that it’s an “adults only” occasion.

Mom and Dad seem unexpectedly excited about going away without Nancy and JoJo along. Nancy is flabbergasted, which is fancy for “I can’t believe this is really happening to me.”

But Nancy’s kind neighbor Mrs. DeVine steps in with the offer of a festive Saturday night sleepover at her house, the fanciest by far in the neighborhood. Before JoJo can manage a full-fledged fuss, Nancy takes charge, describing all the fun she and Bree have had on their sleepovers–-popcorn, pedicures, silly selfies–-and JoJo is mollified, although Nancy is sure she’ll be a little scared when it is time to sleep. It's time for a little big-sisterly reassurance.

“I’LL BE WITH YOU ALL THE TIME,” SHE PROMISES.

And big sister packs everything JoJo may need–-earmuffs to keep out scary sounds, a nightlight to keep away the dark, her bedtime lovey, and her favorite sandwich, in case Mrs. DeVine’s French food is too fancy for her.

And Mrs. DeVine delivers divine diversions for the two sisters. JoJo devours her fancy food like a gourmet, lets Mrs. DeVine re-style her hair and joins a fun fashion show from Mrs. DeVine’s accessory stash. Finally JoJo falls asleep while Nancy watches the late movie.

Mrs. DeVine carries JoJo to bed, and feeling like she’s handled everything like a big sister should, Nancy climbs into the twin bed next to the one where her sister is slumbering. But something’s not quite right.

“IT’S TOO DARK!

IT CAN’T HURT TO TURN ON JOJO’S NIGHTLIGHT....”

It's a long night. As the sleepless hours go by, Nancy uses the emergency supplies she packed for her little sister, earmuffs for strange noises from downstairs and her sister’s sleepytime toy. Nancy even eats JoJo's emergency sandwich, but she still can’t sleep.

“IT’S ALMOST DAWN. THAT’S FANCY FOR SUNRISE.

AND I’M STILL AWAKE.”

There’s only one thing left to do. Insomniac Nancy climbs into bed with her little sister and finally falls asleep, in Jane O’Connor’s and Robin Preiss Glasser’s latest, Fancy Nancy: Saturday Night Sleepover (Harper, 2016).

Her many fans will empathize with Nancy, while younger siblings will enjoy the irony of this humorous sister story in which the character of JoJo is emerging as a comic counterpoint to her fancy-favoring, know-it-all big sister. Glasser’s familiar illustrations continue to add to the fun of these stories in her many telling touches–-setting detail, facial expressions, and body language–-that make this series a long-time winner.

Unexpected Understudy: Nancy Clancy, Star of Stage and Screen by Jane O'Connor

NANCY KEPT LICKING HER LIPS. THE INSIDE OF HER MOUTH FELT AS DRY AS DUST. HER TUMMY WAS DOING FLIP FLOPS, AND SHE WAS PERSPIRING LIKE CRAZY.

PERSPIRING SOUNDED MORE GROWN-UP--AND LESS GROSS--THAN SWEATING.

"WHAT ARE YOU SO WORKED UP ABOUT?" GRACE ASKED NANCY. "YOU WON'T BE ONE OF THE STARS."

It's time for the annual grade-level program. Nancy has been practicing her guitar playing, and she's determined that this year she won't be lost in the chorus, despite show-off Grace's rude remarks.

Her audition goes well, and when the call-back comes that night, Nancy is in seventh heaven. Her tap-dancing best friend Bree also passes the audition, and the two friends throw themselves eagerly into practicing for their musical program about the states, "The Nifty Fifty." The script has Bree tapping to "East Side, West Side" in the salute to New York, and Nancy is accompanying and singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas," with Robert, "the boy from Paris," to salute his home state. Her little sister JoJo, whose favorite TV show is Cowgirl Sal, is thrilled, and to Nancy's disgust, she is soon belting out the lyrics every time Nancy tries to rehearse her part.

But keeping the whole family from getting into the act when she practices is not Nancy's only problem. Grace, who is (naturally) the lead singer on "Oklahoma," continues her put downs at school, and Bree and Nancy quarrel when Nancy complains that Bree is no fun because she's always practicing her routine. But rehearsals after school with Robert and his lasso seem to be going well, and Nancy is sure that they will go over big when "The Nifty Fifty" premiers for their parents.

IT WAS ALMOST SHOWTIME! THE SCENERY--A GIANT MAP OF THE US IN RED, SILVER, AND BLUE GLITTER--WAS STAPLED ACROSS THE BACK OF THE STAGE. EVERYONE WAS IN COSTUME.

Bree's relentless practice pays off. Her performance is perfect and she comes offstage happy. Time seems to fly by as each state's players do their numbers to applause. Suddenly, it seems, Master of Ceremonies Lionel is in front of the curtain, telling his Texas jokes, and it's almost time for Robert and Nancy to go on. Nancy tilts her cowboy hat at a rakish angle and sits down by the fake campfire with her guitar. The curtains open as cowpoke Robert strolls onstage and starts twirling his lariat. It's time for Nancy to begin "Deep in the Heart of Texas."

SACRE BLEU! THE PLACE WAS PACKED. EVERYBODY WAS LOOKING AT HER. NANCY OPENED HER MOUTH.

HER MIND WENT BLANK. WHAT WERE THE WORDS TO THE SONG? WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE SONG?

NANCY OPENED HER MOUTH AGAIN. THIS TIME SHE HEARD SOMETHING--THE OPENING LINE OF THE SONG.

"THE STARS AT NIGHT ARE BIG AND BRIGHT--"

IT WAS JOJO!

When the star chokes, the understudy must go on, and from the front row Jojo, conveniently costumed as Cowgirl Sal, joins Robert and Nancy onstage, belting it out with brio. Suddenly Nancy's fingers move to form the chords, and her voice returns, and the impromptu trio's "Deep in the Heart of Texas" brings down the house.

Finally the curtain comes down and "The Nifty Fifty" is at last history, or so Nancy hopes. But, of course, there are a lot of parents in the audience filming the show, and the next day Nancy gets a phone call from none other than Grace, telling her that her episode of flop-sweat stage fright has gone viral on YouTube. Sacre bleu, indeed!

"YOU MEAN ALL OVER AMERICA PEOPLE ARE WATCHING ME MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF? THIS IS THE WORST NEWS EVER!"

THERE SHE WAS... WITH HER MOUTH OPENING AND CLOSING LIKE A GOLDFISH, HER EYES STARING INTO SPACE.

Will Nancy Clancy ever live down her deer-in-the headlights moment? In Jane O'Connor's latest beginning chapter Nancy book, Fancy Nancy: Nancy Clancy, Star of Stage and Screen (Harper, 2015), Nancy bucks up long enough to make an appearance with her little sister on the local television news, and when Jojo is the one with stage fright before the TV cameras, it is Nancy's turn to do the talking for both of them. Media-savvy young readers will go for the story of Nancy's gone-viral lapse that could absolutely happen to them these days, too. This timely book makes a great read aloud for stage shy kids at this time of year when lots of willing and not-so-willing thespians are taking the boards in school-end productions.

Somehow mega-star author O'Connor and artist Robin Preiss Glaser hit all their marks again in another smash hit for young readers.

Sister Act: Maple and Willow Together by Lori Nichols

MAPLE AND HER LITTLE SISTER WILLOW WERE ALWAYS TOGETHER.

Maple and Willow, preschool siblings in a seemingly arboreal-obsessed family, spend so much time together than they have their own language, a special dialect of pig Latin. They like the same things--drawing, coloring, cooking, catching grasshoppers and building fairy houses out of sticks and leaves found under their twin signature trees. Almost every night, little Willow migrates shyly to Maple's bed, where the two sleep together through the night.

But Maple's maple tree is taller than Willow's willow, as befits the elder sister, and Maple mostly rules the roost. Willow, as befits her name, is very flexible and compliant--most of the time.

Until one day, when the sisters find that they have a surfeit of dandelions all over their lawn. Maple wants them to collect all the blooming ones and make a big bouquet. But this time Willow wants to do it her way. HER WAY is to snatch one up and send the seeds sailing over the grass. Maple decides it's time to pull rank, and makes a grab for the stalk. Willow fires back by blowing the seeds right in Maple's face. Maple yells at Willow, who turns and stomps on Maple's favorite toy.

That's it for Maple! Push has come to shove, and that's what she does. She shoves Willow right down on the ground!

NEITHER SISTER WANTED TO BE TOGETHER EVER AGAIN!

Willow wails and Maple is hopping Admay!!

Mom steps in and sends the two to their separate rooms, where they mutter to themselves and sulk for all of twenty minutes before they realize that they are now more bored than mad and set out to find a way to make amends. Lori Nichols introduced Maple and her name tree in her popular first book, Maple, which closes with planting a seedling willow and greeting Maple''s promised little sister. (See review here).

In Lori Nichols' second book, Maple and Willow Together (Nancy Paulsen/Penguin Group, 2014), Willow has grown just past toddlerhood and is beginning to have a mind of her own, as little siblings do, setting up several possible sequels as pushy big sister and pesty little sister work out their own version of sisterhood. Nichols' illustrations in her sequel are just as deciduously dainty and delightful as her first book, with the tree sisters done up in pastel drawings, easily showing off their evocative body language which hints at their subtle differences in personality. As Kirkus Reviews puts it, "Nichols makes clever use of the book's gutter, subtly and simply representing the invisible bridge that both connects the girls so seamlessly (and here quite beautifully) and also distinguishes them from each other."  There's nothing like love, and sister love, between squabbles can be the est-bay!