Good books on sibling dynamics: By Shaurya Tiwari

   

Do you have two children? You must be feeling like the referee in the house. It's a rollercoaster ride every day. Don't worry. Here is a list of good books to read to take care of the sizzling emotions of everyone.

Ramona and her Mother

From the onset of this book, we see that Ramona gets envious of her older sister “Beezus” as she gets to sit at the ‘grown-ups table.’ She’s even called a pest by Beezus. Ramona gets frustrated and feels that she is sufficiently capable to be treated as an equal to Beezus. Her efforts to portray maturity go unnoticed by her mother. Ramona resents her mother’s pride towards her sister and wonders why she doesn’t have the same relationship. Sewing didn’t come easy to Ramona as compared to Beezus and their mother; she felt shut out from something she longed to share. Ramona was highly disappointed with her life and felt that her mother loved Beezus more.
After a baffling incident with toothpaste and getting blue feet, Ramona witnessed a huge quarrel between her parents. Both the sisters comforted one another. With Beezus not wanting a home haircut, “The Great Hair Argument” came about and Beezus got jealous of Ramona and she felt she could get away with anything. Sympathizing with Beezus for her unfortunate haircut, Ramona felt sad for her. Ramona got pajamas that she liked, maybe a bit too much. 
The story ends with a misinterpreted telephone call, which leads to some embarrassment and anger. Nonetheless, the story concludes blissfully.
This is a spectacularly amusing novel that is greatly suggested for pre-teens.

Superfudge

This is a lively story about a family who gets new members and it describes the experiences they have with a few changes in their life. Most conflicts between siblings arise due to jealousy, exasperation, and a fear of loss of attention from the parents. This story exhibits these feelings right at the beginning when news arises of a new baby.  This book starts off with a young boy in the fifth grade - the narrator- with a 4-year-old brother “Fudge” who he does not like very much and finds exhausting, and he gets the disappointing news of yet another baby coming into the family. As time passes the narrator feels annoyed with one unfortunate development after the next and even his new sibling. With the introduction of a lady who is suspected of eating worms to a bird that speaks French, this story keeps on having hilarious developments.  Spread all across the book, are the fun mockings, pranks, and jeerings of Fudge and his elder brother.

This book shows the differences in the ways that kids act or even are expected to act when they are of a certain age in a family. The different beliefs and imaginations between the two siblings and their interesting conversations which are sometimes coupled with their somewhat questionable actions are also displayed.

This would be great for pre-teens and is surely a captivating read.

Siblings without Rivalry

Having kids can be difficult, especially if they fight all the time. Not only is it fatiguing for them, it also puts an insufferable burden on the parents. 

Well, luckily this book is the perfect solution for parents experiencing these exhausting situations. Inside this book is the gold mine to help children make peace among themselves, leaving you also undisturbed. The writers of this book are internationally acclaimed in this field and have received numerous awards and designations for their work. With real-life incidents and alternatives to certain impossible situations, this book will surely be helpful. QNAs from parents stating their problems are also seen in the book.  Eventually, with all the input, efforts, and changes made by the parents in their parenting style, the kids will be able to sort out their disputes on their own. They will be provided with a mechanism to negotiate their differences and achieve harmony by reducing conflict. 

If any parent is facing any issues with their kids fighting, this is the best book for the job and will without a doubt bring tranquillity to your home.

Middle School: Ultimate Showdown

The “Middle School” series follows the adventures of Rafe Khatchadorian and his younger sister Georgia.

This particular book is a literal battle between brother and sister, it is a contest in which we - the readers- must choose the better Khatchadorian. This is an interactive book in which the authors have made the readers involved by writing the book in such a way that it feels like Rafe and Georgia are speaking to us. 

The wittiness and mockery between the siblings are truly a hysterical addition to the book, for example, Georgia’s motto is “ My brother is a big fat liar”

It is up to the audience to decide the winner as Rafe and Georgia give their opinions and experiences on certain topics. Their views and perspectives of the world are so different and in complete opposition to one another. With almost every chapter, both of them take a hit at each other. In the end, Rafe and Georgia again try to persuade us - the readers - to take their side in the contest and decide as the winner.

Even after all this, they both remind the readers not to ever make fun of their sibling, as that privilege is reserved for them and only for them.

King Lear

This beautiful play begins with one simple misinterpretation of complex feelings of love which paved the way for the course of numerous tragic events.

We see the greed, cunningness, and hunger for power and respect between family members so much that it surpasses even the bond of blood. The magnitude of discord between the three sisters which led to horrible actions executed by them is shown in this play.  From the observation of this play, it can be noticed how far people are willing to go for their ambitions and love, no matter how much harm it may cause others or even themselves.

The serious clash between sisters cannot be understated in this play, the audacity and backbone that one must have to banish their own family or even wage war against their loved ones, etc. cannot be comprehended.  This is why this play would not be recommended for children but for young adults.

We receive a lesson on why to maintain a fellowship and link with our bloodline.

One hundred percent would advocate for this play and the emotions felt while experiencing the beauty of it.

How to drive your sister crazy

This book for kids states how it is the duty of younger siblings to drive their elder siblings crazy. This book contains various ways in which this task can be accomplished in a fun way by the younger siblings. This is an ideal book for children, as it even explains the meanings behind many phrases or idioms throughout the story to expand a child’s vocabulary. Clever strategies and pointers are also portrayed in the form of “Notes” across the book. The entirety of the book is written from the point of view of a smaller brother explaining all the tips and tricks he has discovered to infuriate his older sister. 

Altogether this amusing book will surely be loved by youngsters.

Conker and Nudge

This children’s picture book may be small but that didn’t stop it from having huge significance. Conker and Nudge is a compact book with a simple message. Perfect for teaching basic and fundamental morals to children. It starts out with a classic sibling relationship between an elder brother “Conker” and a younger brother “Nudge”, in which the younger one admires the elder one. So much so that Nudge would try to copy Conker in all his feats. Although sometimes this would make their bond deepen, other times it was nothing but annoyance for Conker. This led to some harsh actions performed and hurtful words said by Conker. It was only in the end that Conker realized what he failed to see before. The very admiration and perseverance to be with his brother shown by Nudge, which was irritating to Conker, somehow ended up being his lifeboat in a sudden storm of harsh oceans. It was this, that opened Conker’s eyes to what he was missing. All things considered, this book is a terrific way to inculcate a mechanism to resolve differences in young, developing siblings.

The Lion King

“The Lion King” is undoubtedly one of the most popular stories for kids in the world. 

It is about a lion “Mufasa” and his son “Simba” who will inherit the throne and the kingdom. This is deeply despised by “Scar”, Mufasa’s younger brother. He becomes so overcome with greed and jealousy that he hatches a plan to pave the way for him to become the king. Scar takes extreme measures to ensure his grasp on the throne. He banishes Simba and gets rid of his brother. It is now up to Simba to return home and defeat his uncle for the sake of his kingdom. 

This famous tale is without question a great read. 

Cinderella

This classic story teaches us the value of treating someone properly and how we should be kind to everyone. It starts off with a young girl called Ella who has sadly become an orphan. Her new stepmother and stepsisters gain control of her estate and start abusing her and even nicknaming her “Cinderella”. The stepsisters were horrible to her and never spoke to her properly. Ella resented their selfishness but was helpless in her situation. Even though she got bullied by them, she never resorted to stooping down to their level and always remained a good person. By the end, we realize how fate rewarded Ella’s kindness and punished her stepsisters’ cruelty. This classic tale can teach us a thing or two about being kind to our sibling, biological or step.

This is a beautiful old tale that is loved by children all throughout the world.

Rodrick Rules

The “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series is written through the eyes of a scrawny and self-obsessed young boy, Greg, - and it shows his perception of the world. This book of the series - “Rodrick Rules”- emphasizes his relationship with his elder brother, Rodrick, - and he portrays a comedic picture of what it’s like having an elder sibling. Through the different instances in the book, we see the love-hate relationship between brothers and of course, their innate desire to disturb each others’ peace. In the beginning, we even see terms like “Rodrick Problems” being thrown around. Even in the forced “quality time” as mentioned by their mother, they were both reluctant to spend time with each other. The book also renders unlucky and embarrassing moments that take place when you have a sibling. From skimping on chores to holding humiliating pieces of information hanging over each others’ heads, this book has it all. Efforts made by their parents to bring them closer together also proved to be a failure. Through these pages, it was understood that although there was a mutual hatred, sometimes siblings’ minds can think alike to be done with many monotonous tasks and even save themselves from their parents. It is clear that even if siblings get into fights and disagreements, at the end of the day, they do feel bad when the other gets in trouble and will set aside their differences to rectify any issue to save them. On the whole, this is an entertaining book with fun, caricature-like illustrations and is ideal for brief reading.

Soupy Saturdays

This story is written from the perspective of two siblings who have named each other “The Pain” and “The Great One”.

The elder sister calls her younger brother  “The Pain”  as she feels he is always being quite vexing. On the other hand, the younger brother names his elder sister “The Great One” because apparently, she thinks very highly of herself. 

Their names for each other may be different, but they share one thing in common, both siblings are under the assumption that their parents love the other more. Fun banter and attempts at insult are seen between the two quite often in the story, which is common to most sibling relationships. We can see that both have different fears and situations in which the other helps or at least tries to provide support but not without some slander of course. Jealousy and the effort to try and prove that the other is more loved by their parents is eminent throughout the book. The Pain constantly loves making The Great One lose her mind. This fun book for kids shows the hilarious and somewhat confusing logic of children when it comes to certain things and even some temper tantrums spread throughout the book. 

In essence, Soupy Saturdays is a brilliant view of sibling relationships and shows us some very interesting ways in which siblings can squabble.

Karen's Brothers

“Karen’s Brothers” is narrated by a 7-year-old girl called Karen Brewer and she has a younger, 5-year-old brother called Andrew. Following their parents’ divorce their family expands and attains a somewhat complex framework with them going from their mother’s house to their father’s house.  Karen gets mad at her much older step-brothers because they didn’t let her come with them to the movies. She makes some harsh decisions (for a second grader). These decisions laid the foundation for what happened in the rest of the story and she even got in some fuss at school. 

By the end, Karen realizes that not every boy in the world is bad and patches up her relationships with the boys in her life by making a grand gesture. 

This is a model book for children. 

Written by

Shaurya Tiwari