Book review: 'Brother, Sister, Me and You' falls short of its publisher

We're still talking about Earth Day books, over here!

I have high, I mean HIGH, expectations of National Geographic Kids' books. Until now, every book I've received from NGK has been filled with amazing artwork, photography, and illustrations.

Until today.

"Brother, Sister, Me and You" could be a cute book. At 32 pages it's a picture book for caregivers to read to littles. But several of the photos in the book are either a bit blurry or overexposed. And that's coming from someone who is NOT a photographer. So, if those errors are glaringly obvious to me, they'll be noticed by everyone.

Image from nationalgeographic.com

The storyline is cute. Various photos of animals throughout the world are shown and their family relationships are talked about. This book could be a fun one to read to small children while teaching about animals or family dynamics.

But I just can't recommend this book. The juxtaposition of many of the photographs with the graphics are really jarring for me. I've gone through "Brother, Sister, Me and You" many times now, trying to figure out just what annoys me so much about it. Maybe it's the print job? Maybe the bokeh is too strong or off center? Maybe the color scheme has set me off? Whatever it is, I'm not a fan.

Besides the visual effects I don't care for, "Brother, Sister, Me and You" is a clean book with nothing offensive in it.

Author Mary Quattlebaum grew up the oldest of seven children. She currently lives in Washington D.C.

Book breakdown:
32 pages
Full color photographs
Best for ages 4-10
Educational factor: medium
Christian content: n/a
Parents could be concerned about: nothing