Sisters First

Hager and Bush follow up their 2017 memoir, Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life, with this heartfelt picture book tribute to sisterhood--both literal and figurative. "As we've grown older, our definition of 'sisters' has expanded to friends and colleagues--women who lift us up and help us believe that we are enough," they write in an introductory note. As the story opens, a lonely girl eagerly awaits the birth of a sibling: "My wishing paid off;/ it was written in the stars;/ A new baby sister would/ soon be ours." Reality sets in, though, once the infant arrives: "You cried and you ate, but not much more./ (My new baby sister was a bit of a snore)." As the baby matures, the two become inseparable, yet, in keeping with the authors' message about the expansive nature of sisterhood, they also spend time cavorting with a diverse cluster of other girls. Kaulitzki (Badger's Perfect Garden) crafts breezy, luminous mixed-media illustrations that capture the sisters' mutual affection and playful flights of imagination. Though the verse's rhythm and rhyme are sometimes strained, the story's genuine sentiment shines through brightly. Ages 5-8. (Nov.)