Catharine O'Neill

Big brother Simon and little sister Annie are off on a series of adventures in Catharine O'Neill's chapter book, Annie and Simon; The Sneeze and Other Stories. The loving sibling team go to the lake to watch for and draw wildlife, tackle the common cold at home together, teach their dog, Hazel, how to purr like a cat, and solve a mystery about missing horse chestnuts. The language is simple and flowing, but peppered with words that will challenge like, "binoculars" and "appendix". However, the relationship between a much older teenage-ish brother and an inquisitive little sister seems at times to be stilted and too-good-to-be-true. There is very little conflict and so not much motivation to keep young readers turning the page. O'Neill's watercolor illustrations are lively and beautifully blended, lending movement and tenderness to her characters. They are generously sprinkled throughout the book, so younger readers can feel like they’re reading a big-kid chapter book without too much struggle. The book does emphasize the importance of working together and being kind, but as these characters seemed to have learned those lessons long ago, there’s less opportunity for a reader to learn along with them like we get to with Junie B., Clementine, and Ruby Lu. Additional Selection.… (més)