"The Trouble with Twins" by Martha Freeman

The Trouble with Twins by Martha Freeman, is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and would absolutely recommend for teachers to read to their students. Coming across this book in the curriculum lab instantly excited me, considering the fact that I am an identical twin. Freeman's depiction of a set of energetic two-year-old twin boys and their older sister was spot on! With the twins, Jeremy and Dylan, being at the terrible age of 2, their older sister, Holly, offers to throw them a birthday party so that her exausted mom and stepdad can have a break. This was no easy task, and Holly had to overcome many challenges along the way.

Freeman's writing was extremely humerous, as the book went from one funny thing to the next. I found myself laughing out loud as the twins constantly requested to watch their potty videos, got into the toilet paper resulting in a toilet paper confetti war, and dumped cake batter on Boo Cat's head. The cats were always attentive and prepared for escape mode, in order to avoid the brutality of the twins.

I formed a connection with this book and could closely relate to it. Just as my twin sister and I have opposite personalities and characteristics even though we are identical, so did Dylan and Jeremy; one twin is the instigator, and the other twin, while naughty, can be cuddly and sweet. I have an older sister whom I'm sure would relate to Holly. When there are two twin toddlers running around the house, it is easy for parents to overlook the needs of the older sibling. I felt stressed and sad for poor Holly at times, especially when she referred to herself as the "invisible big sister," and when attention from her parents was scarce. The trip to the grocery store with the boys particulary sticks out in my head. When they got out to the car, Holly and her mom celebrated "surviving another trip to the grocery store". My Mom said that the grocery store was her worst nightmare when my twin sister and I were little.

The book ended nicely with the birthday party turning out to be a success and Holly's parents surprising her with her favorite dinner to celebrate what a great big sister she is. I hope that others will appreciate this book and be as entertained as I was when reading it!