One Busy Day: A Story for Brothers and Sisters

PreS-Gr 1—Since her arrival in One Special Day (Hyperion, 2012), Spencer's little sister, Mia, has become an active little girl who just wants to play with her big brother. But Spencer is way too busy for her, so she becomes busy, too. Mia paints, dances, explores, bakes, builds, swims, discovers, and climbs. Slowly Spencer is drawn into her play. Together, they swim, discover, climb, and battle dragons, and "for the rest of the night Mia and Spencer were both busy-very, very busy together." Schaefer's spot-on text is matched by Meserve's compelling illustrations. Especially effective is the pairing of text and art depicting the contrast between what is actually happening on one page and what the children are imagining on the next. For example, Mia goes from a kiddie pool to riding a dolphin in the ocean: "She swam…in curling, crashing waves." Readers have to turn the page to see what is imagined, creating maximum suspense, which is great for storytime. This sweet tale hits all the right notes.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH