Caden, the older brother and narrator of the story, GRACIE BECOMES A ROCK STAR, is an amazing little fellow.
Boy Power at its Best!
Think about the dynamics between siblings: love, hate, resentment, fun, friendship, agitation, teasing, tolerance, frustration, and much more. It’s a true smorgasbord of emotions.
Thinking about sibling relationships, I know this, I was a real pest as a little sister. My older sister’s boyfriends would give me a quarter to disappear, clearly aware that I would immediately hop on my bike and ride down the road to the little store that sold candy, sodas and ice cream. By the time I rode to the store, visited with the owners (a very short, nice man and woman who always insisted on a long conversation and told a joke or two), and then rode my bike back to the house, I’d be gone for 1 to 2 hours, and I’d be out of the way. And this is what they wanted – to be left alone. You see, if my sister and her boyfriend were holding hands or he was trying to kiss her, I’d be hiding somewhere and then start making smacking noises and singing little made-up songs about them, love, kissing, etc. A REAL PEST!
So what we see with Caden is a kind older brother who not only tolerates his little sister well, but actually assists her in showing off her talents by becoming the master of ceremonies, introducing her to the family and giving her the space and permission to ‘do her thing’. Now, this isn’t to say that he is excited about the upcoming performance. He’s seen her many times before when she starts singing and dancing: as he says, it goes on, and on, and on and on! But what happens when she goes from her made-up songs to some well-known, popular song, is she really becomes a little star, and Caden realizes she truly does have talent. That’s when he gives her the title ROCK STAR!
I didn’t have an older brother, but several of my friends did, and these brothers ranged from very nice to us little kids to being real jerks. The nice ones of course meant we wanted to hang with them, which I’m sure is the last thing they wanted. They weren’t ugly to us, they didn’t make smart remarks and they actually at times helped us fix our bike, or made us a PB&J, or showed us how to do something (like how to properly saddle a horse). My memories of the nice ones are precious to me for they are attached to a lot of fun, and laughter and safe times (when parents didn’t worry about their child being kidnapped or hurt by bad people like we have to warn our children about today).
Look at the relationship between Caden and his little sister, Gracie: You can say this for Caden: he showed the true meaning of Boy Power at its Best!