Big Red Lollipop
by Rukhsana Khan
illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Country of origin: Canada
Rubina is invited to a birthday party, and her little sister Sana screams, "I wanna go too!" Their mother, Ami, insists that Sana be taken along, despite Rubina’s vigorous protests, and the party turns out as badly as Rubina worries it will. To add insult to injury, after eating the lollipop in her goody bag, Sana almost finishes off Rubina’s. When Sana comes home with her own invitation to a birthday party, their littlest sister wants to attend, and now it’s Sana’s turn to protest. But fair is fair, Ami decrees. In a clever turnaround, Rubina, though sorely tempted to let Sana suffer the embarrassment she did, persuades their mother to let Sana go alone.