Starred review from October 15, 2014
Maple and Willow do just about everything in sweet, sisterly symbiosis. Rain and shine, summer and winter, morning and night find the two girls (one bigger, with tight braids, the other littler, with spiky ponytails) together, usually speaking their own language: pig Latin. Pencil drawings on Mylar, enhanced with lots of fuzzy peachy pinks and leafy greens, show the girls transfixed in partnered play, their round heads and dot eyes oriented identically, scrutinizing books, worms, drawings and make-believe fairy houses. Nichols makes clever use of the book's gutter, subtly and simply representing the invisible bridge that both connects the girls so seamlessly (and here quite beautifully) and also distinguishes them from each other. Maple calls most of the shots, as most big sisters do, and Willow doesn't mind much, being an easygoing little. But everyone has their limits. "ADMAY!" screams Willow after being told what to do one too many times, and she stomps on Maple's most special toy. Then comes a big push from Maple, tossing her little sister-slam-to the ground. Raw, real, and easily imagined by any child who's finally had enough from a close friend, classmate, sister, brother (or even mommy or daddy). Sisterly love abides, of course, with pig Latin apologies all around. Strong sibling bonds are perfectly described through spare language and artwork as lush as a forest of maple and willow trees. (Picture book. 2-6)
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October 1, 2014
PreS-K-In this sequel to Maple (Putnam, 2014), Willow is now a toddler. Close friends, the sisters make leaf angels in autumn, cuddle at night, and play hide-and-seek. Willow's early counting skills frustrate her big sister but sparks don't fly until there's a push-and-shout disagreement about the fate of their dandelions. After the two are separated, things get boring, so they exchange apology gifts across the hall, embrace compromise, and then return to their merry routine of daily life. Digitally colored pencil on Mylar drawings balance dainty lines in spare scenes of varying perspective and palette. Nichols keeps her tale blissfully simple to complement the youngsters' antics.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from October 15, 2014
Preschool-G *Starred Review* This paean to sisterhood reintroduces the title character in Maple (2014), whose parents planted a maple tree before she born. They did the same for Willow, who is a most satisfactory younger sister. The two are always together, share their own language, and make their own fun (and their own breakfast). Maple is also very pleased with the way Willow follows orders, and Willow doesn't mind her role, until the day that Maple wants to collect dandelions. Willow wants to blow their seeds, instead. Tears and stomping feet follow. Doors slam. But boredom brings reconciliation, and several sweet vignettes show the girls in full rapprochement, reading books, hopping like grasshoppers, and entwined asleep in bed. The story is delightfully recognizable, especially to sisters, and is matched by marvelous pencil artwork, digitally colored in the softest of shades, in images that neatly showcase the sprightly siblings. Nichols is clever enough to build the sisters' subtle differences, so their breakup comes from somewhere. Children will feel all that the girls do: love, anger, and the happiness that comes with making up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)