My Sister is Different

Wright Ren, Betty. My Sister is Different. Milwaukee: Raintree Childrens Books, 1981
My Sister is Different deals with a boy who has a mentally disabled older sister. At first he is sick of having to take her everywhere with him because he is embarrassed of her. They go to the mall and when she has to use the bathroom, he makes her go alone. When she doesn't return he runs through the mall looking for her. He starts to think about how wonderful of a person and sister she actually is. When he finds her he gives her a big hug and treats her differently from then on out.
I thought this book did a very good job showing what it is like to have a sibling with a disability. The examples of the narrator's life are very realistic; I feel that a child in the elementary grade levels would be able to relate to his story. There is a grandmother in the book that seems to favor the sister. When he says that he does not want to play with her anymore she asks him, "Is your heart so dried up and scrawny that it can't love?" followed by a hug for the sister and a scowl for the brother. I also found it interesting that the sister in this book is refereed to as "mentally retarded". Since this book was written in the 80's the grammar is not entirely politically correct for this day in age, but not seen as a big deal back then.