When I read the back cover flap on Giselle Potter’s 2021 picture book Sister Wish, I learned that Potter’s parents had a puppet theater, and that she and her sister traveled extensively with them. My first thought was “Wow! That’s the story this book should have told!”
Sister Wish has a unified voice and vision. (Potter did the watercolor illustrations too.) I accept and respect the idea for the book: sisters (or any siblings) often envy one another, and everyone would be happier if they acknowledged each other’s unique qualities and accepted each other for who they are. Got it. A good message, and one the book illustrates well. The book is full of girls who look similar but not exactly the same: the sisters have the same bone structure, for example, and the same skin tone and hair color, but different heights, hair styles, and characters. Readers get to see their contrast on swings, in trees, and when the girls don wings and fly through the air.
But…the lesson/message is just about all that’s here. The girls wish they were more like one another…and learn acceptance. There’s limited conflict and limited drama. I agreed with the book, but didn’t care much as I read it (and yes, I had siblings).
