Starred Review ALA Booklist (Sat May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Starred Review Sisters Ling and Ting may be twins, but that doesn't mean they're "exactly the same," no matter what everyone says upon first meeting them. Children will come to their own conclusions after reading the six short, interconnected stories that make up this pleasing book for beginning readers. In the first chapter, "The Haircuts," Ling sneezes while her bangs are being cut, and for a while at least, it's easy to tell the twins apart. The chapters that follow reveal distinct differences in the sisters' personalities, inclinations, and abilities. Despite those differences, in the end each girl subtly affirms her affection for the other. Framed with narrow borders, the paintings illustrate the stories with restrained lines, vivid colors, and clarity. The chapters often end with mildly humorous turns, from a neat play on words to a smack-your-heard obvious solution to an apparently impossible dilemma. These endings, as well as bits of comic byplay that occur in the brief framework vignettes, will suit the target audience beautifully. Lin, whose previous books include Dim Sum for Everyone (2001) and the 2010 Newbery Honor Book Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009), shows her versatility once again in an original book that tells its story clearly while leaving room for thought and discussion.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

K-Gr 2 Lin brings her talents to these charming stories about Chinese-American twins who like to stick together but are not as alike as everyone thinks. The six short chapters are the perfect length for beginning readers. In the first story, the girls get haircuts. Ting &4;moves her legs and her fingers. Ting can never sit still.&4; When her snipped hair falls on her nose, she sneezes and the barber cuts a little too much off her bangs. The simple illustrations follow this mishap throughout the book, making the sisters easily identifiable. In the other vignettes, Ling and Ting make very different dumplings, Ling cannot eat with chopsticks no matter how hard Ting tries to teach her, and they visit the library. Each story ends with an amusing punch line that will make readers laugh. The last chapter ties all of the tales together, showing the fun and friendship that the girls share. This relationship, combined with the simple sentence structure, repetitive text, and straightforward illustrations that reinforce new vocabulary words, will put this easy reader in the same category as Arnold Lobel&9;s &4;Frog and Toad&4; books (HarperCollins).— Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

In her first early reader, Lin presents six chapters, each a brief, humorous story about twin sisters Ling and Ting. People are always telling them they're exactly the same; however, readers will get to know the identically dressed girls by their unique personalities (and Ting's uneven bangs). The stories are warmly illustrated with Lin's color-saturated art inside boldly hued borders.

Kirkus Reviews

Newbery Honor author Lin makes a stunning entree into the world of early readers. The first of six short stories introduces identical Chinese-American twins Ling and Ting, who always wear matching patterned dresses. The similarities soon end after the girls visit the barber. While Ling sits still, fidgety Ting sneezes, causing the barber to lop off too much of her bangs. As the girls perform magic tricks and head to the library, young readers will begin to focus more on Ling and Ting's different personalities and less on their identical faces. The author introduces Chinese cultural elements as Ling and Ting make dumplings and try out chopsticks. Imbued with humor only a sibling could get away with, the episodes build on one another until the final chapter, featuring a picnic with the author's now-trademark cupcakes, serves as a funny summary of the twins' tales. Vibrant gouache paintings also extend each story, emphasizing the sisterly warmth that prevails even when the two don't see exactly eye to eye. This spot-on depiction of twins celebrates individuality. (Early reader. 6-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Twins will find endearing advocates in Ling and Ting, Chinese-American twins who good-naturedly defy people's assumptions that they are interchangeable. ""We are not exactly the same,"" Ling replies to this common comment. ""Ting laughs because she is thinking exactly the same thing!"" Six entertaining tales are blithesome slices of life that exemplify their uniqueness and companionability. In the first, Ting and Ling get haircuts, but ""Ling can always sit still. Snip! Clip! The barber cuts Ling's hair in a smooth line."" Not so with Ting, who wiggles, sneezes, and ends up with an asymmetrical hairdo that unquestionably sets her apart. Each scenario%E2%80%93%E2%80%93ranging from making dumplings to giggling over card tricks gone wrong%E2%80%93%E2%80%93is captured in framed, photo-sized illustrations with old-fashioned charm. The girls wear identical, feminine dresses, again challenging the reader to look beyond exteriors. The final tale, a fantasy spun by Ting, tells of spurning a king who cannot decide which of them to marry: "" %E2%80%98But the twins told the king to go away. They were not exactly the same,' Ting says, %E2%80%98but they always stayed together.' "" Ages 6-9. (July)