Overview

Daisy's older brother is thrilled when he gets a new sibling. They are best buddies who do everything together. But in kindergarten things change. His sibling tells him she is a girl and wants to be called Daisy. Daisy's brother must adjust to the change - including what it means for him and their relationship. A powerful moving picture book based on a true story My Sister Daisy handles a sensitive subject with warmth and love.

Full Product Details

9781684463848

Table of Contents

Reviews

"In an emotionally honest first-person text, an older brother reflects on how his younger sibling's gender transition has affected him. The unnamed narrator addresses his sibling, who, for the pair's first few years together, he knew as his brother: ""We were brothers and best friends."" When the younger child informs her family that she's a girl, the brother needs to process what's changed--and what hasn't. The kids' parents take the news in stride, asking about a new name (""My name is Daisy, like the flower"") and making sure to find an affirming community of similar families. The narrator, however, struggles with an understandable sense of loss and confusion. ""I was afraid to call you by a new name and afraid to not have a brother anymore. I was afraid it meant losing you. But...I tried it."" Cursi's painterly illustrations, recalling Ken Wilson-Max's style (Astro Girl, rev. 11/19) with a more muted palette and less-heavy black line, skillfully convey relationships in this mixed-race family. In a particularly effective spread, the right-hand page shows Mom, Dad, and Daisy gathered around a kitchen island, the parents listening attentively to their daughter. On the verso, the narrator sits apart from the rest of his family, listening but not engaged in the conversation--a great depiction of how children can feel left out and resentful of the attention a transitioning sibling often receives. Karlsson's text is purposeful but authentic to a child's voice, and the story (inspired by her own family's experience, we learn in an author's note) should support and guide kids in similar circumstances. With time and parental guidance, the older brother realizes ""that you were still the same person, and we could play all the same games."" And that's what matters most.--Kitty Flynn ""Horn Book Magazine"" In My Sister, Daisy, by Adria Karlsson and illustrated by Linus Curci (Capstone), a boy addresses his sibling and describes his response when she told him she was a girl, not a boy as people had assumed. While he struggles sometimes to remember to use the right name and pronouns for her, and sometimes resents the extra attention she seems to be receiving, he ultimately realizes that they can still have fun together and he loves her as his sister. Karlsson makes a point of dispelling gender stereotypes, for example, by the narrator saying his sibling had long hair, but he knows that doesn't make someone a girl. He even knows someone who is both a boy and girl and uses they/them. When he asks his sibling if she's sure about her identity, she confidently tells him she is. Their parents are accepting from the start. They get picture books from the library about ""kids like you"" and meet other families like theirs. The boy learns the word ""transgender,"" helps other kids remember his sister's new identity, and sometimes goes with his sister to the ""Rainbow Kids"" lunch at school, with LGBTQ kids and those with LGBTQ family members. He meets older transgender kids and others ""who weren't he or she."" Still, he struggles with his feelings and sometimes gets frustrated when he doesn't use the right words or when Daisy gets all the attention. His parents stress how important it is to treat Daisy as she is inside, and that the ""special attention"" will fade over time as people begin to accept her. In the end, the narrator affirms that he loves Daisy as his sister and best friend. The father is Black, the mother White; the siblings have skin tones between them. This story is somewhat similar to Sam Is My Sister, by Ashley Rhodes-Courter and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley (Albert Whitman). Both were written by the real-life mothers of transgender daughters. My Sister, Daisy offers more insight in to the cisgender child's feelings; Sam Is My Sister shows more of the transgender child's journey to realizing her identity. Sam Is My Sister also shows Sam's struggle against bullies and her sadness when she can't be who she is. We also see Sam's parents being more cautious than Daisy's in letting Sam wear girls' clothes. They then meet with ""some doctors and experts"" and come to be fully supportive. My Sister, Daisy, in contrast, shows Daisy knowing who she is from the start; her parents are immediately accepting. There are no encounters with teasing or bullies. Families will likely find one story or the other resonates more with them. (And for a story from the perspective of a cisgender girl with a transgender brother, try Jack, Not Jackie, by Erica Silverman and illustrated by Holly Hatam (Little Bee)). Families should welcome My Sister, Daisy as a tool to help children understand and support a transgender sibling. Those using it in a school or library setting with a larger audience, though, should be aware that, like Sam Is My Sister and Jack, Not Jackie, it should not replace books about transgender children told from the perspectives of trans children themselves. (Try any of the books by Kyle Lukoff or look through my database at the picture books about transgender girls and transgender boys for others.) Nevertheless, for the audience of siblings that it is targeting, My Sister, Daisy is a warm and sympathetic story.-- ""Mombian"""

Author Information

LINUS CURCI is a freelance illustrator who currently resides in Easton, Pennsylvania. When he was halfway through his education as an illustrator, Linus decided to transition to a male. He said it wasn't until that moment that he really woke up as an artist. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Illustration is Linus's main focus and passion, but he also daylights as a United States Postal Service clerk. He is inspired by colors, memories, screen printing, and textures. Adria Karlsson lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her family. Currently she is writing and parenting, but she has a history of teaching people, training cats and dogs, and tutoring kids with dyslexia. When their daughter let them know that they'd gotten her gender wrong at birth, Adria and her spouse were deeply grateful for the outflowing of love and support from the local LGBTQIA+ community and hope to be able to pay it forward. When she isn't writing, Adria can often be found reading with a cat on her lap, attempting to replicate pastries from a certain British baking show, or zipping around town with a pile of children in the family cargo bike.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available