by Andrew Fusek Peters & Polly Peters ; edited by Karin Littlewood ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2015
Subtle as a rock but likely to be more effective than many other bibliotherapeutic titles.
The colors leach out of a child’s bright world when his father is afflicted with depression. Will they ever return?
In this resolutely purposeful episode, a young boy describes his once-cheery dad’s downward spiral while repeatedly wondering—despite his father’s denials—if he’s somehow at fault for the changed behavior. Though on their walks together “the clouds smiled at him and the trees waved hello,” suddenly one day Dad is “full of sadness.” After that he sees only “the sun sulking, clouds, frowning, rain crying.” He stops leaving the house and sometimes even bed. In the illustrations, grays and blues take over for the bright greens and yellows, Dad stands with head bowed, and the narrator draws a crying figure on a foggy window. At last, “important people at a hospital” supply both medication and a therapist, and eventually the sun shines again, the shadows recede, and the boy gets a “great, big, squeezy hug.” Puzzlingly, the other parent making up the titular “family” appears in just one small scene. Though next to Quentin Blake’s illustrations in Michael Rosen’s Sad Book (2005), the use of color to signal emotional state is as heavy-handed as the prose, younger children struggling to cope with parental illness, particularly their own misplaced feelings of guilt, may draw comfort from the upbeat ending.
Subtle as a rock but likely to be more effective than many other bibliotherapeutic titles. (Picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1273-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015
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by J. Dillard ; illustrated by Akeem S. Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 3, 2021
A strong second outing for Dillard and J.D.
Breakout kid barber J.D. embraces a summer of opportunity.
Readers met J.D. Jones just as he took his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, by storm, winning himself community acclaim and a chair at the revered Hart and Sons barbershop in series opener J.D. and the Great Barber Battle(2021). What’s next for the haircut prodigy? School’s just getting out, and there’s so much life happening outside—if only one can escape home learning with the grandparents. J.D.’s sister, Vanessa, brings along multitalented mutual friend Jessyka to share an ambitious challenge: “Let’s start a YouTube channel!” Can they get millions of views and wow the whole world? They are already amazing at haircuts and hairstyles—all they need is to learn how to make a great YouTube video. The story models strategies for scripting short videos reflecting the templates of viral YouTube hair tutorials, inviting readers to not only see the journey of the characters, but maybe also practice these skills at home. This book is bound to educate all about some of the most storied and cherished traditions within the Black community. Bringing in Vanessa is a great touch to extend the series across gender, and hopefully she’ll get a chance to lead her own adventures. This book blends skill-building, entrepreneurship, and strong family values to give young Black children visions of what’s possible when they follow their passions and embrace their community.
A strong second outing for Dillard and J.D. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-11155-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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by Suzy Kline ; illustrated by Amy Wummer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 27, 2018
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode.
A long-running series reaches its closing chapters.
Having, as Kline notes in her warm valedictory acknowledgements, taken 30 years to get through second and third grade, Harry Spooger is overdue to move on—but not just into fourth grade, it turns out, as his family is moving to another town as soon as the school year ends. The news leaves his best friend, narrator “Dougo,” devastated…particularly as Harry doesn’t seem all that fussed about it. With series fans in mind, the author takes Harry through a sort of last-day-of-school farewell tour. From his desk he pulls a burned hot dog and other items that featured in past episodes, says goodbye to Song Lee and other classmates, and even (for the first time ever) leads Doug and readers into his house and memento-strewn room for further reminiscing. Of course, Harry isn’t as blasé about the move as he pretends, and eyes aren’t exactly dry when he departs. But hardly is he out of sight before Doug is meeting Mohammad, a new neighbor from Syria who (along with further diversifying a cast that began as mostly white but has become increasingly multiethnic over the years) will also be starting fourth grade at summer’s end, and planning a written account of his “horrible” buddy’s exploits. Finished illustrations not seen.
A fitting farewell, still funny, acute, and positive in its view of human nature even in its 37th episode. (Fiction. 7-9)Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-451-47963-1
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
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