Palacco, P. (1994) My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster books.

Brief Annotation:
This story is told from the voice of a younger sister who is constantly being outdone by her older brother. He can eat more rhubarb than her, pick more berries than her and even spit farther than her. At worst of all, he would always be 4 years older! After many failed attempts to do the more of something, she finally wishes upon a falling star to beat him. The next day at the fair she sticks it out on the merry-go-round longer than he does. But, after so many turns round, falls and cracks her head. The next morning she finds out that her rotten redheaded older brother was the one to carry her home and fetch the doctor.

Genre: Historical fiction

Grade Level: K-3

Readers who will like this: Students with siblings. Students who are competitive. Students who think spitting is funny.

Response/Rating (1-4): *** I liked this book, but don’t think it will become one of my favorites. There were a lot of fun language things going on in the book, even the title is kind of a tongue twister. I think lots of kids will be able to relate to the story as well.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: Who has a sibling? Do you ever try to compete with your sibling to be the best at things?