Picture the scene: Me arriving home to find my youngest plopped on the couch happily watching tv alone, surrounded by her stuffed animals, blankie, and an assortment of the pretzels and crackers that at the time comprised most of her body weight and were the reason my nickname for her was Dry Salty Crunchy Carbohydrate.

Me, wary: “Where’s your big brother?”

Her, happy: “Dunno.”

At which point I walked into the kitchen to find this note on the fridge. Which I stuck in a box of my son’s childhood mementoes and forgot about.

Picture this scene as well: me noticing one weekend day that my youngest seemed to be spending much of her time trundling about the house doing small chores and fetching things for her big sister and big sister’s friend. 

Me to big sister and big sister’s friend, who were clearly enjoying a life of leisure with their indentured servant, suspiciously: “What’s going on here?”

Them, airily: “Nothing. Just playing.”

Later that day I found the above note. Which I stuck in a box of my older daughter’s mementoes and then forgot about. Until a couple of years ago, when they were all in college and I decided to go through those boxes and found both notes and a bunch more. Which gave me the idea to write a book about the sibling relationship that consisted entirely of notes and drawings. And here we are! Dear Sister, a graphic novel-ish book for all ages, illustrated by the fabulous Joe Bluhm, comes out tomorrow wherever you buy your books. 

To order a copy

From your local indie bookstore
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