The Sister
Book
by Kristin Hernberg Featured in Legacy - Autumn '02
When
Kristin Hernberg of Rochester, New York, was looking for a special gift
for her two nieces, she came up with the idea of a book that celebrates
sisters. Using pictures of the two girls, along with childhood photos
of herself and her own sister, she created The Sister Book. You can
find a story about The Sister Book in the autumn 2002 issue of Legacy,
the new magazine from Stampington & Company dedicated to turning
family history into art. Now, we’d like to share some more wonderful
pages from Kristin’s album.
The
Sister Book measures 5"x5". Kristin used her computer to lay
out the pages, scanning the photographs and then adding text. She constructed
the book using accordion-fold paper.
"The
Sister Book is a simple story of the complex friendship between sisters
old and young, and the special friendships we develop when we don’t
have a sister."—Kristin Hernberg
"I
chose older pictures that showed my sister and I growing up, and newer
pictures of my two nieces. Neither my mother nor my daughter has a sister,
so I included photos that show other close bonds within the family."—Kristin
Hernberg
Sometimes,
if you are very lucky, you have a sister. You can play together, whisper
secrets, or be silly together.
Unfortunately,
sisters can be really cute, so you end up wearing matching outfits,
and people often give you the same gifts. When it all gets to be too
much, you can go shopping together, or drive fast cars.
Sometimes
you have a sister you haven’t met yet. Sometimes you aren’t
given a sister, but you have a brother to be your friend, or a mother,
or grandmothers, or daughters, or a husband, or cousins, or a great
big family. They aren’t sisters, but at least you don’t have
to wear matching outfits
Your sister isn’t
always your best friend, or even your favorite friend. Some days she’s
your very best enemy! Other days, she’s your only friend, and
you hug and giggle and promise, and imagine what it will be like when
you are the grown-ups.
Rule #1 No more
matching clothes!
A
sister is a friend you have for your whole life. She’s someone
who keeps you company when you are growing up, who loves the same jokes
you do, who gets just as mad when the rules aren’t fair, who’s
just as dorky as you are in junior high, and seems pretty normal by
the end of high school.
You’ll
have a lot of friends wherever you go, but a sister really is very special.
