Five-year-old Rachel can't wait to get to her seven-year-old cousin's house. She is anxious to repeat all the fun she remembers having with her the previous summer -- taking bubble baths, swinging on a tire swing and playing school. But once she and her family get to Amy-Claire's house, Rachel is in for a major disappointment because all Amy-Claire wants to do is play with Rachel's two-year-old sister, Jessie. Hamanaka's bold, sun-dappled oil paintings depict Amy-Claire as Asian-American while her cousins are biracial (Asian/white) in a realistic story about imaginary play and shifting family relationships. (Ages 4-7)

A visit to her cousin Amy-Claire helps five-year-old Rachel discover the joys of being a big sister.