If I Were Queen of the World

I got this book at the library and fell in love with it. Our daughter was 3 when our son was born, and this book is perfect for her, to establish an idea of what a "good sister" is all about. The book chokes me up - I love it.

Acclaimed illustrator Mark Graham's trademark soft impressionistic oil paintings perfectly convey the narrator's struggle to express her own vibrant imagination and will from within her constraining, but comfortable, relationship with her little brother. His granted status gradually moves from that of queen's subject to maybe, sometimes, her king. Graham's work is also showcased in the popular children's books Charlie Anderson and My Father's Hands.

A sweet, imaginative story in which an older sister fantasizes about what wonderful, magical things she would do if she were queen of the world. But more than what the title would suggest, is the true message of the story- her love for her little brother, as she never forgets to include him in each and evey thought and fantasy that she creates along the way. The love, patience, and compassion that she feels for her brother shine through, even though she remains very much a little girl and typical big sister through and through. My daughter and son loved holding hands while I read to them. I didn't mind being asked to read it again and again.