What are sisters for?

Big sister Ada shows boundless patience with little sister Bea's many questions. She feels a responsibility to answer each one, because having all the answers is "what big sisters are for." (Bea and Ada are depicted as koalas, living in a town with shops including Marsupial Books and Koality Foods.) Bea's questions, however, are getting harder and harder to answer, and when one day Bea asks, "Where do shooting stars go?" Ada invents an answer -- and the next thing you know, the girls are exploring the nearby jungle in search of the "starberries" that Ada had suggested would be there. In this unfamiliar territory, Bea's continual questions begin to overwhelm Ada, who must finally admit that she just doesn't know. Though the two girls get lost, Glazer's vibrant pictures keep the tone reassuringly upbeat -- and their adventure ends on a double-page spread revealing a spectacular landscape with a shimmering waterfall in the distance, rewarding the sisters' decision to keep exploring. Glazer incorporates lots of speech bubbles into her engaging acrylic, gouache, colored-pencil, crayon, and Photoshop illustrations. Poring over the pictures, which range from vignettes to full-bleed spreads, will reward observant viewers, who may spot delicate details such as each girl's favorite pattern or color (polka dots for Ada, bright yellow for Bea) as well as interesting creatures in the jungle. This story of sisterly devotion begins with endpapers featuring sweet, affectionate scenes and concludes with endpapers hinting at more adventures to come -- together, of course. Susan Dove Lempke November/December 2021 p.72(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Koala sisters and lots of questions characterize this sweet sibling story. Little Bea is one inquisitive koala, and her big sister, Ada, has all the answers--until she doesn't. This moment of mild crisis doesn't arrive until several spreads first establish Ada not as a know-it-all but as someone with a big imagination who finds creative ways to respond to Bea's incessant queries. A typical exchange, conveyed in speech balloons, reads, " 'Where do shooting stars go?' 'They fall to the ground, obviously.' 'So where did that one go?' 'Hmm, I guess that would be somewhere in the jungle.' 'And what happens then?' 'They sprout from the ground as starberries.' " Bea latches on to this particular response and wants to find said starberries, so off to the jungle the sisters go. The gentle watercolor cartoons are akin to Kevin Henkes' mouse books in feel, which should assuage any readers' fears that grave peril awaits the sisters in the jungle. They do get lost, but only long enough for Ada to have a tiny breakdown about being unable to answer Bea's questions or to find their way home. Bea isn't worried, though, and, following her lead, Ada calms down quickly. A little more exploring provides them with a fun discovery before they do return home, safe and sound, relationship strengthened. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Storytime fun for sisters--or for anyone, really. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.