Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan

Title: Big Red Lollipop
Author/Illustrator: Rukhsana Khan/Sophie Blackall
Genre: Fiction
Awards: Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text
Age: 4 and up

This book is about a little girl, Rubina, who has just been invited to her first birthday party and is really excited about going. When she gets home and tells Ami about her invitation, and asks if she can go and she says yes, but her little sister Sana, started complaining and wanted to go. So Ami told her she could go, but would have to take her little sister.  Rubina, didn't really like the idea because she knew her friends would think she was weird and maybe not invite her to any other parties. She begged and pleaded but Ami's mind was made up, so Rubina called her friend and she said it was alright. While at the party, Sana was the only little sister there and she wanted to be the one to win all the games, and when she fell in musical chairs she started crying. When they left the party, they were each given a goodie bag, which had many little items include a big red lollipop. Sana had eaten hers on the way home, and Rubina saved hers for later. She put it in the fridge and dreamed of it all night. When she woke up the next morning she found the only thing left was a small triangular piece, since Sana had eaten it. Rubina was very upset, and angry with her sister. As a result of how her sister behaved at the party Rubina, never got invited to anything for a long time. One day Sana came home with an invitation to a party of her own, and her younger sister, Maryam, started crying and saying she wanted to go, so like Rubina, Sana was going to have to take her younger sister. At first, Rubina was all for this idea, but remembered what happened to her and how she didn't get to go to many things after that. So, she talked to Ami and convinced her to let Sana to go by herself. When Sana came back from her party, she gave her sister, Rubina, a big green lollipop, and this was to repay her for eating her red one when she was younger.

I liked this book and although I can't really relate to having younger siblings, but I think students would enjoy reading this, because maybe they have to do this with cousins or other people who may be close. I liked how in the end the little sister "repayed" her sister with another lollipop to make up for taking her other one when they were younger. This book suits students in Pre-K-2nd grade. I think if I would use this in a lesson, I'm just not sure where yet. I also liked how the sister had a perfect opportunity to make her sister go through what she went through, but she chose to be a bigger person, and remember what happened to her and the experience she had, and thought it wouldn't be fair for her sister.

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