Common Sense Media Review
By Regan McMahon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sweet, spunky celebration of sister love.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 4+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
As SISTERS FIRST begins, the main character and narrator has no siblings, feels lonely, and wishes and prays for a sister: "Please make us kind, with enormous hearts, / clever too, and very smart. / With soft hands to hold and arms to hug, / and gentle eyes that show deep love." She gets her wish and the baby arrives. She's a little disappointed at first: "You cried and you ate, but not much more. / (My new baby sister was a bit of a snore.)" But she remembers her prayer and realizes: "If kindness was what I was asking of you, / I needed to be kind and patient, too." In time, they become playmates and rely on each other for comfort and imaginative free play. Two other pairs of sisters are shown doing things together, too, both real (making pickles dipped in sprinkles) and in fantasy (flying hot air balloons, tap dancing in the clouds, being cat pirates on the sea and mermaids riding alligators).
Is It Any Good?
With cute art and clever rhymes, this loving look at sisterhood is both spunky and sweet in describing what's meaningful about this special bond. "Sisters are partners (mainly in crime), / We play tricks on our parents / and sneak treats at bedtime." And having two other sister pairs in the mix adds fun and diversity.
Sisters First is lively, imaginative, and full of positive messages, including the final couplet of the main character's prayer: "And through many days, the best and the worst, / help us remember we are sisters first."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the girls in Sisters First. What's it like to be an older sister? What's it like to be the younger one?
Do you have a sister? What's she like? If you don't have a sister, do you wish you did, like the girl in the Sisters First does at the beginning?
What does the big sister mean when she says "we are sisters first"?
Book Details
- Authors :
- Illustrator : Ramona Kaulitzki
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publishers : Little , Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : November 24, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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