Frog Face

Sometimes tender, sometimes hilarious photographs of Delaney's own daughters span from when the little sister is an ""itty-bitty, goofy-looking but sort of cute, squishy"" infant to when she is old enough to be a real playmate. Schindel's (Dear Daddy) evenly paced first-person narrative chronicles the shifting phases of sisterhood while authentically capturing the cadences of a delightful older sibling: ""Even though we don't get along all the time and sometimes I want to sit on her, I'm lucky she's mine."" At one point the older girl darkly notes that ""frog-face"" (her nickname for the baby) ""spent too much time with Mom""--an observation accompanied by a brooding portrait, one of the few in black-and-white. This sentiment is well integrated into the believably conflicted, loving relationship between the two girls. Schindel's text has an offhand humor; the author wisely avoids sentimentality, and the book never reads like a tract about how to handle jealousy. The interplay between text and photographs is as symbiotic as its subjects. The intimacy and humor of this photo essay is a rare treat; readers may well feel they are watching the sisters' growing friendship unfold before their eyes. Ages 2-7. (Sept.)