My Sister, Alicia May

No, I don't have a sister named Alicia May.  But I do have a sister named Kelly!

Lucas and I were in the library a few weeks ago and I did a catalog search on Down syndrome and children's book and found the book called My Sister, Alicia May by Nancy Tupper Ling.

I hadn't heard of it before so I found it on the shelf and the illustrations are what caught my eye first. This book is beautifully illustrated. The book is based on real sisters and the illustrator used photographs of them to illustrate the book ... which makes for some very realistic and life-like images of the two sisters.

Interestingly enough, the illustrator, Shennen Bersani, has a sister with Down syndrome, yet the publisher didn't know this when she contacted Shennen and asked her to illustrate the book! 

The story itself is told from the perspective of Rachel, the older sister and what her experiences and feelings are like with having a sibling who has Down syndrome. I found it to be an honest account in that Rachel describes some challenging moments along with all the wonderful moments that go along with having a sibling with special needs ... which really can be said for just having a sibling in general!

This book is geared towards the elementary age and I think it would be a great addition for families to have and read with their children. Even though Lucas is the younger child, I think he still identified with the story as I explained to him that Alicia May has Down syndrome, like Kayla. In fact, he asked if that was Kayla on the cover of the book!