Reviews: (by author)

Johnson, Gillian. My Sister Gracie. Toronto and Plattsburgh, NY: Tundra Books, 2000. ISBN 0-88776-514-9. $16.95

The story is trivial - a new family member is arriving, and the child who so far was the only child has to accept this. To make something original out of this plot the creator has to employ some new devices. Seemingly, this is what Gillian Johnson is doing: her protagonist is not a human child, but a dog, a little fluffy creature who is longing for a playmate, and his family--mother, father and two kids--finally decide to get another dog. The pictures are not without charm and humor. Yet I see some problems with this book. The least important is that it is written in horribly lame verses where "come" rhymes with "one" and so on. The dog the family gets from SPCA is old, fat and tired, and little Fabio's dreams are shattered. Like many jealous siblings, he tries to get rid of Gracie. If the situation is to be translated into the arrival of a new baby, it doesn't really work. Is it supposed to represent a grandparent being brought from an old people's home? Then why does Fabio, instantly reformed by Gracie's tears, solemnly embrace her as his sister in front of his canine friends? Something is wrong with this story, and the soppy ending doesn't make it any better.

Reviewed by Maria Nikolajeva

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