Anyone who can write a children’s story without a moral, had better do so: that is, if he is going to write children’s stories at all. The only moral that is of any value is that which arises inevitably from the whole cast of the author’s mind.
- C.S Lewis: Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories

Review from SLJ

The Twins’ Little Sister. illus. by Hyewon Yum. 40p. Farrar/Frances Foster Bks. Aug. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780374379735. LC 2013013078.

PreS-Gr 1–The girls from The Twins’ Blanket (Farrar, 2011) are back and have something new to share—a baby sister! At first the twins aren’t so thrilled about the baby taking up all their mother’s time, but soon they realize that if they lend a hand, Mom will have more time to spend with them. They become so involved that they decide they need another baby! This semiautobiographical story puts a sweetly funny spin on the classic big sister plotline. The dual first-person narrative is comprised of dialogue, mostly between the twins as they sort out their feelings about their new sister. Once again, Yum shows a caring Asian family with the emphasis on the sibling relationship. Fans of the first book will be delighted that the blankets, along with the twins’ favorite colors, pink and yellow, make an appearance in the stylistic and painterly mixed-media illustrations. This book has broad appeal for big sisters- and brothers-to-be as well as for twins.–Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library

Review from Horn book

The Twins’ Little Sister

by Hyewon Yum; illus. by the author

Preschool    Foster/Farrar    40 pp.

8/14    978-0-374-37973-5    $16.99    

Those strong-willed sisters from The Twins’ Blanket (rev. 9/11) are back, having successfully transitioned from one shared bed and blanket to two beds and two blankets (one yellow and one pink, reflecting each twin’s decided color preference). Ever competitive, however, they are now fighting over Mom’s attention: “When we take a nap in the big grown-up bed, I want Mom to look at me.” “No, look at me. She’s my Mom!” It’s a problem. And the situation just gets worse when, despite their objections, Mom brings home a new baby sister: “Now Mom’s grown-up bed doesn’t have room for either of us.” Yum is one of our least sentimental picture book creators: her twins are believably childlike in their directness (“The baby is red and ugly”; “She looks like the bread in a paper bag”) and their unshakable belief that the world revolves around them (“Mom has only two arms. Who’s going to hold the baby’s hand?”). Each step forward in accepting the baby has its source in a self-interested motive, but accept her they finally do—and the twist at the end is both funny and fitting. As in The Twins’ Blanket, the picture book format is used inventively, with the yellow-loving twin mostly on left-hand pages and the pink one on the right. The collage elements (Mom’s patterned dress, for instance, and baby’s pink-and-yellow blankie) add texture and interest to the gouache illustrations. This is a fresh take on both the sibling-rivalry and new-baby themes; the unremarked-upon absence of another parent makes this a refreshingly nonpointed single-parent story as well. martha v. parravano

First Review for THE TWINS" LITTLE SISTER

THE TWINS' LITTLE SISTER
Author: Hyewon Yum
Illustrator: Hyewon Yum

Review Issue Date: June 15, 2014
Online Publish Date: June 4, 2014
Publisher:Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Pages: 40
Price ( Hardcover ): $17.99
Publication Date: August 5, 2014
ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-0-374-37973-5
Category: Picture Books

New-big-sister dilemmas—times two.

Readers of The Twins’ Blanket (2011) will recognize the two adorable, identical twin girls in their polka-dot dresses (and of course, their striped blanket in the background). The twins have two of nearly everything, but they have only one mom, and this is a big problem. As they fight over whom mom will look at during nap time or whom she’ll push first on the swings, their mother’s bulging belly reveals an even bigger problem: a little sibling on the way. When the baby, who “looks like the bread in a paper bag,” arrives home, there’s suddenly not enough room for the twins on the grown-up bed or anyone to push them on the swings. But when the girls notice the attention they receive for helping with the new baby, their ever present competitiveness turns toward fighting over who’s the better big sister. Always reconciled eventually, the twins decide that the baby is kind of cute and that they don’t mind sharing their mom with her. As the competition to care for the baby continues, maybe their only problem now is that they need another baby sister! Ample white space allows the expressive, patterned artwork, created from prints, colored pencil, watercolor and other media, to show the twins’ range of emotions.

A spot-on look at sibling rivalry that will speak to multiples and singletons alike. (Picture book. 3-6)

From Kirkus