By Charlotte Zolotow
The big sister always looks after the little one, until the day the little one slips away and it's the big sister who needs comforting.
Big sister takes care of little sister in everything, tells her what to do, wipes her tears, walks her to school. Little sister goes along with all of it. Then one day, tired of always being the little one, she hides. When big sister finally can't find her and starts to cry, it's little sister who steps out and comforts her, and the two learn that caring goes both ways. A tender, quiet Charlotte Zolotow classic about the give-and-take between siblings.
For the gift shelf this is the one that speaks to the big sibling role itself, the pride and the pressure of always being the capable one. It reassures the older child that being the big sister doesn't mean carrying everything alone; the caring flows both directions. It's not a new-baby book exactly, but it's the warm long-view of what having a sibling becomes, and it suits the child who's been told to be the helper and needs to know they're allowed to be little sometimes too.