Sour Cakes

"This is the simply told story of two siblings--one who wants to play, and the other who most certainly does not. The little sibling wakes up in a grumpy mood. The older sibling tries everything she can think of to cheer her sister up, but nothing seems to work: she won't go outside, won't sing, won't color a picture, and won't bake sweet treats. "Why sweet? I like sour." Like any good sibling story, we see some cajoling, attempts at negotiation, contrariness, petulance, and a flat-out fit. The older sibling attempts to listen, soothe, and conciliate--to help her sister find her way through messy feelings. But the little sibling unleashes the full force of her emotions: "I want fog to crash down on big monster feet. ... I want to disappear." The turning point arrives as the older sibling empathetically enters the fog with her sibling. No longer alone and sensing her sister's compassion, the little sibling can start to receive what her sister has to offer: a song to yell, a picture that's grey, a cake that's sour, if that's what the little sibling really wants. By the end, the older sibling has conveyed to the younger that she can be understood and loved--even when she's at her worst. The fog lifts and they can play."--