Sibling Stories: 21 Books That Celebrate Sib Bonds

The “Fudge” series

By Judy Blume, 1972–2002

Beginning with “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing,” Blume follows the often hilarious misadventures of Peter Hatcher and younger brother Fudge across four books. The Hatchers enjoy a flawed, yet loving and entirely relatable, family life.

Cinderella Smith

By Diane Goode, 2011–2013

Cinderella Smith loses shoes, but she doesn’t have any problem with her little sister Tess, who tags along on Cinderella’s adventures whenever she can. In the first book, the new girl Erin is about to get a stepfamily, and she wants Cinderella to help her figure out how to deal with wicked stepsisters before it’s too late. Bonus: The author is from Seattle.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

By Lemony Snicket, 1999–2006

Like “The Boxcar Children” (Gertrude Chandler Warner), the Baudelaire children are responsible for their own survival. But the Baudelaires are trying to escape the evil Count Olaf in Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” a wickedly sarcastic chapter-book take on Victorian Gothic that showcases strong sibling bonds and children’s resourcefulness and resilience. A movie adaptation stars Jim Carrey, and a TV series stars Neil Patrick Harris as Olaf. If your kids enjoy “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” give them Maryrose Wood’s “The Mysterious Howling” next: It’s a faux-Victorian governess novel about a young woman who must civilize a trio of raised-by-wolves siblings in time for a fancy Christmas party.

As Brave as You

By Jason Reynolds, 2016

In this Coretta Scott King Honor Book, YA author Jason Reynolds tells the story of two brothers sent to spend the summer with their grandparents. The story deals with heavy issues — family rifts, disability, grief — but the reader and the 10-year-old protagonist can take comfort in the relationship between the brothers, which is also the key to healing their family.

Frozen

Novelization by Sarah Nathan, 2013

Parents may be burned out on Disney’s ubiquitous “Frozen” franchise, but the story remains remarkable. No other princess story puts sisters before misters quite like this! The movies are great for all ages, but there’s also a chapter-book novelization that fills in extra detail for kids who want more depth. Bonus: The film's director has confirmed that Tarzan is Elsa and Anna’s little brother; maybe we can hope for a sibling reunion?

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher

By Dana Alison Levy, 2014 and ongoing

Celebrate boys in this series about an all-male family: four brothers ages 6–10 and their two dads. From annoying homework and best friends to strange pets and stranger neighbors, each Fletcher boy is unique and faces his own problems, but none of them is alone. It’s a beautiful and down-to-earth update of family-life stories like the classic “Melendy” series by Elizabeth Enright. (For a more feminine update, try “The Penderwicks” by Jeanne Birdsall.)

The Mighty Miss Malone

By Christopher Paul Curtis, 2012

Christopher Paul Curtis’ books capture American history through the completely authentic eyes of young children. In “The Mighty Miss Malone,” the bright, book-loving Deza Malone’s life is turned upside-down by the Great Depression. The family loses their home and their father, and faces great hardships. But Deza never gives up, because she has the best brother in the world. (There’s not a lot of everyday kindness among the three siblings in another of his books, “The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963,” but they certainly look out for each other — they literally jump into rivers and run into burning buildings when one of them is in danger.)

The Kane Chronicles

By Rick Riordan, 2010 to 2012

Riordan’s Percy Jackson series is more famous, but in my house, Sadie and Carter Kane are the most beloved. Biracial siblings who have been raised apart, the Kanes are reunited just in time to save the world from dark magical forces out of ancient Egypt in “The Red Pyramid.” There’s plenty of bickering, but their love is never in doubt — they routinely risk life, limb and the fate of the world to protect each other over the course of three books.

The Land of Stories

By Chris Colfer, 2012 and ongoing

A part of my soul will always reside in Narnia (C.S. Lewis) with the Pevensie children, but my kids’ hearts dwell in “The Land of Stories.” Beginning with “The Wishing Spell,” Colfer’s series presents familiar ingredients in a fresh and delightful way. Twins Alex and Conner are transported to a land where all the fairy tales are true. The bandit Goldilocks riding a stolen horse named Porridge raises the bar on fractured fairy tales. Bonus: Blow your kids’ minds when you show them the author performing as Kurt Hummel on the TV show “Glee.” (For more books in this vein, check out “The Sisters Grimm” series by Michael Buckley.)

The Ear, the Eye and the Arm

By Nancy Farmer, 2014

The Newbery Honor book “The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm” blends science fiction tropes and Zimbabwean culture. In 2194, siblings stifled by their privileged life escape the family compound in search of adventure. Instead, they get kidnapped, escape (repeatedly) and find out about the hard world their parents were protecting them from. 

Millions

By Frank Boyce, 2005

“Millions” is about two brothers who have recently lost their mother. When a bag of money literally lands at their feet, moral compasses don’t always point north. The boys learn twin lessons about how little happiness money can buy and how much family is really worth. Bonus: It’s also a movie.  

One Crazy Summer

By Rita Williams-Garcia, 2010

All the books about the Gaither sisters are pure gold. The first in the series, “One Crazy Summer,” sends them to spend the summer of 1968 with their estranged mother in Oakland, where the three girls are left almost entirely to their own devices. There is naturally a lot of bickering and bossing, but the girls take their responsibility for each other very seriously. Bonus: Readers will learn as much about the Black Panthers’ history as the Gaither girls do. 

Saffy’s Angel

By Hilary McKay, 2005

In “Saffy’s Angel,” Hilary McKay reminds us that family is family, no matter what — even if it’s weird, even if it’s adopted. When Saffy discovers that her sisters and brother are really her cousins, she hopes that recovering a special item willed to her by her grandfather will help her figure out who she really is. The predictable results are filled with charming characters and quintessentially British humor.

Up next: Books for ages 12+