Critique of Text Set

Summary:
After reading all of the books in my set, I realized how important it is for children living with a sibling that has a disability to be open about what they are feeling. It must be very difficult to be growing up and have to hear other children make fun of or laugh at somebody that is a part of your family. On the other hand, it must also become stressful to have to deal with parents and family members that force you to be with that sibling at all times. Two out of Three of the books have to do with a younger child with an older sibling. In both cases the family members do not understand why the younger child is embarrassed of their sibling and do not want to take them everywhere. In, Way To Go, Alex, the sister is ashamed that her disabled brother will never win anything like her friends older brothers, to her he will always be different. Although I thought the book had an over all good message that it is OK to keep trying, I felt it was forced at the end which made it semi-unrealistic. In the book, My Sister is Different, the over all message was also well thought out. The younger child realizes that although his sister might embarrass him, she has good qualities too, such as being good with babies. I did not like how the book made the younger sibling out to be the bad guy just because he shared with his family how he felt about his sister. In the last book, Views From Our Shoes, the stories that the children wrote were very realistic as well as funny. Knowing that they are true and children actually wrote them, makes the book that much more meaningful. I think that this would be the best book for a sibling of a child with a disability. After reading the article that had spoken about how a relationship between a disabled child and their "normal" sibling can flounder by adult hood, I feel that these stories would help the most. Hearing stories from other children going through similar situations may cause the siblings to see something in their brother or sister that they might not have seen before, or become more empathetic to them.