The Sorta Sisters

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Author/Illustrator: Adrian Fogelin

Plot Summary: Two girls develop a friendship through the exchange of "snail mail" letters. Through their letter-writing, they help each other navigate the trials and tribulations of family, school, neighbors, and their futures. They both live in Florida - one in the north and one in the south.

Comments:
This is the perfect book for a fourth or fifth grade girl; I cannot imagine recommending it to a boy. I am curious to know if the other books in the series are the same in that regard. This book reminded me of pen pal friendships I had as a child and now, this becomes a way to illustrate how people used to communicate.

Extensions:
1. Although this book would definitely not appeal to boys, it would be a good book from which to launch a pen pal project. This could be done the old fashioned way with letters and stamps or over the Internet. The teacher would have to set this up either through a colleague, or through a program.
2. For an all-girl book club, this book we would a good way to facilitate a discussion with girls about the various things that they face in their lives.

Themes/keywords: friendship, foster home care, single parent families, alcoholism, letters, Florida

Age/Reading Level: 5 - 8; ATOS/Follett 4.3; Lexile 760

Standards: - focused on fourth and fifth grade
ELA4R1 The student demonstrates comprehension and shows evidence of a
warranted and responsible explanation of a variety of literary and informational
texts.
ELA4R2 The student consistently reads at least twenty-five books or book equivalents (approximately 1,000,000 words) each year. The materials should include traditional and contemporary literature (both fiction and non-fiction) as well as magazines, newspapers, textbooks, and electronic material. Such reading should represent a diverse collection of material from at least three different literary forms and from at least five different writers.
ELA4R3 The student understands and acquires new vocabulary and uses it correctly in reading and writing.



Publisher's Info: Peachtree Publishers; Atlanta, Georgia; 2007

ISBN-13: 978-1-56145-424-2
ISBN-10: 1-56145-424-9

Awards/Review Sources:

Wilson's Children 01/01/09

School Library Journal 12/01/07

Booklist 01/01/08

Horn Book 04/01/08

Kirkus Review 09/15/07

Kliatt 11/01/07


Genre/Dewey: Fiction

Websites:
Information on this book from the author's website

Notes for Booktalk: Other books in this series -
  • Crossing Jordan
  • Anna Casey’s Place in the World
  • My Brother’s Hero
  • The Big Nothing
  • The Sorta Sister
A 2009-2010 Georgia Book Award nominee
There are teacher's guides for some of the author's books and the publisher is working on guides for additional titles.

Vocabulary:

Comments

Unknown said…
Hmmm, you raise an interesting point. I wonder if today's girl would be interested in a pen pal project via traditional mail. Maybe we'll see a retro movement to stamped letters. Naw, tweeting's the way to go. It would certainly have shortened The Sorta Sisters, wouldn't it? I just finished reading Carl Reiner's Just Desserts about a fellow's e-mail correspondence with God. I raise my glass to a changing world, though I still love to open the mailbox and find a real letter.
December 13, 2009 at 8:45 AM
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