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Book Review of Surviving Fights With Your Brothers and Sisters: A Children's Book about Sibling Rivalry (Ready-Set-Grow)

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ISBN 0849981255 - I'm not entirely sure of the age group this book is really aimed at. It's annoyingly repetitive to older kids, and has words and concepts little ones might not really grasp alone. Illustrations of every sentence in the book seems too much, again, for the older set, but perfect for younger children.

That aside, Wilt does a fair job of laying out the reasons siblings fight, the ways they fight and how to stop the fighting - not from the parent's point of view, but from the kid's point of view. This make it much easier for a child to relate to, and the fact that pretty much every thought in the book is stated three times - initially, in pictures, and in a summing up - makes young kids a better audience than older ones, who might find it condescending. Of course, younger kids will have it read to them by adults, who can then take the time to explain the ideas and to talk about them. This sort of approach might work best for this book and the entire set.

The illustrations are great, with a few full-color ones mixed in with the mostly black and white drawings. Overall, it's a nice book with a great goal that just didn't impress me all that much. Still, if siblings are driving you crazy and you're willing to try almost anything, it's worth your effort to read the book and follow up - just reading it isn't going to solve much of anything!

- AnnaLovesBooks