Annie and Simon (review)

In this four-chapter easy reader, young Annie experiments with hairdos (and gets the comb stuck in her hair), goes canoeing in search of a loon, receives her first bee sting, and watches a meteor shower, all with the accompaniment of her near-adult brother, Simon, and their disobedient pup, Hazel. Though sibling stories are a dime a dozen, it's rare to find one at this reading level with this particular age dynamic, and the interactions between patient Simon and exuberant Annie are both credible and comical. O'Neill's writing is concise, simple without being babyish, and amusingly wry; for example, when Hazel repeatedly barks on the loon trip, Annie eagerly says, "Hazel's talking to the loon, Simon. Maybe I could talk to the loon, too" to which Simon replies (somewhat wearily), "Soon I'll be talking to the loon." Though her muted watercolor illustrations occasionally lack focus in their overall composition, the dash-eyed siblings (Simon is dark-haired and lanky while Annie is blond and petite) and the lively Hazel exude plenty of personality. Though children ready for beginning chapter books will easily manage this on their own, it might also be a fine readaloud for a slightly younger audience and a good choice for siblings to read together.