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JUAN HAS THE JITTERS

Name: JUAN HAS THE JITTERS
Author: Aneta Cruz
ISBN: 978-1-62317-494-1

by Aneta Cruz ; illustrated by Miki Yamamoto ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 6, 2020

A well-intentioned but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at encouraging inclusion and understanding of neurodiversity.

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Juan is really nervous. Field day is different from other days—it is too loud, and there are too many people.

What should he do when he gets the Jitters? Count? Sort? Clap them away? His teacher has a solution; instead of a strictly athletic event, it will be the “Mathletic Games,” since math is Juan’s favorite subject. Also, Juan will be the judge. His classmates organize geometric manipulatives by shape and color, and Juan gets to judge who advances to the next challenge. As the day progresses, he claps when he is unsure of himself. After the awards ceremony, everyone cheers Juan as being the real winner, and Juan joins in the clapping. While the story is commendably respectful of Juan and his challenges, Cruz’s tale of autism and inclusivity, expressed in the marketing, falls short of expectations. Whereas a good deal of effort is expended to highlight the protagonist’s coping mechanisms, there is no mention of autism itself within the story. Many people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder exhibit repetitive behaviors that overlap with OCD, and without pointing out these shared behaviors, the result is confusion rather than clarification. The complete absence of backmatter or even resource links compounds this. Yamamoto’s bright, straightforward illustrations portray racially and culturally diverse students and a teacher who presents as Asian; Juan has brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

A well-intentioned but ultimately unsuccessful attempt at encouraging inclusion and understanding of neurodiversity. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-62317-494-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: North Atlantic

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

- BOOK REVIEW
ASTRONAUT TRAINING
by Aneta Cruz ; illustrated by Olivia Aserr

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

- BOOK REVIEW
ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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MANGO, ABUELA, AND ME

by Meg Medina ; illustrated by Angela Dominguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2015

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez,...

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Abuela is coming to stay with Mia and her parents. But how will they communicate if Mia speaks little Spanish and Abuela, little English? Could it be that a parrot named Mango is the solution?

The measured, evocative text describes how Mia’s español is not good enough to tell Abuela the things a grandmother should know. And Abuela’s English is too poquito to tell Mia all the stories a granddaughter wants to hear. Mia sets out to teach her Abuela English. A red feather Abuela has brought with her to remind her of a wild parrot that roosted in her mango trees back home gives Mia an idea. She and her mother buy a parrot they name Mango. And as Abuela and Mia teach Mango, and each other, to speak both Spanish and English, their “mouths [fill] with things to say.” The accompanying illustrations are charmingly executed in ink, gouache, and marker, “with a sprinkling of digital magic.” They depict a cheery urban neighborhood and a comfortable, small apartment. Readers from multigenerational immigrant families will recognize the all-too-familiar language barrier. They will also cheer for the warm and loving relationship between Abuela and Mia, which is evident in both text and illustrations even as the characters struggle to understand each other. A Spanish-language edition, Mango, Abuela, y yo, gracefully translated by Teresa Mlawer, publishes simultaneously.

This warm family story is a splendid showcase for the combined talents of Medina, a Pura Belpré award winner, and Dominguez, an honoree. (Picture book. 4-7)