A sensitively told conversation starter for children about abuse, power dynamics, and compassion.
A boy befriends his bully and, with the help of his mother, keeps the bully fed daily at school.
Based on a true story, this is dedicated to educator Jim Perez and to “the lady who kept making all those lunches for him, day after day.” In the first spread, readers stand right behind Jimmy, who daily targets the same kid, a boy eating lunch alone. Instead of standing in the line for free and reduced lunches, Jimmy steals the boy’s bagged meals. Jimmy’s first-person narration reveals abuse at home at the hands of his older brothers. When the bullied boy invites his classmates, including Jimmy, to a birthday party, Jimmy learns his target has his own losses. He also has an unexpected encounter with the boy’s mother, who promises she’ll have her son take “a second lunch…for you, every day.” Illustrations with smudgy, relaxed lines—faces are often indistinct and in shadow—and vivid, emotionally charged colors (Jimmy in dark purples and greens and the other boy and his mother in warm oranges and pinks) animate this tale. Jimmy’s inner thoughts occasionally surround his head in hand-lettering (“don’t yell” when the boy’s mother approaches him), and the use of numbers to count the bagged lunches stolen—and, later, given—are effective. The abrupt ending hints at a lifelong friendship between the boys. The races of the protagonists are unclear due to Otoshi's emotive palette, which paints all characters in blues, reds, greens, and so forth, but they have straight hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitively told conversation starter for children about abuse, power dynamics, and compassion. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73434-820-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: KO Kids Books
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available.
A ghost learns to appreciate his differences.
The little ghost protagonist of this title is unusual. He’s a quilt, not a lightweight sheet like his parents and friends. He dislikes being different despite his mom’s reassurance that his ancestors also had unconventional appearances. Halloween makes the little ghost happy, though. He decides to watch trick-or-treaters by draping over a porch chair—but lands on a porch rail instead. A mom accompanying her daughter picks him up, wraps him around her chilly daughter, and brings him home with them! The family likes his looks and comforting warmth, and the little ghost immediately feels better about himself. As soon as he’s able to, he flies out through the chimney and muses happily that this adventure happened only due to his being a quilt. This odd but gently told story conveys the importance of self-respect and acceptance of one’s uniqueness. The delivery of this positive message has something of a heavy-handed feel and is rushed besides. It also isn’t entirely logical: The protagonist could have been a different type of covering; a blanket, for instance, might have enjoyed an identical experience. The soft, pleasing illustrations’ palette of tans, grays, white, black, some touches of color, and, occasionally, white text against black backgrounds suggest isolation, such as the ghost feels about himself. Most humans, including the trick-or-treating mom and daughter, have beige skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-16.6-inch double-page spreads viewed at 66.2% of actual size.)
Halloween is used merely as a backdrop; better holiday titles for young readers are available. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7352-6447-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard.
A grouchy sapling on a Christmas tree farm finds that there are better things than lights and decorations for its branches.
A Grinch among the other trees on the farm is determined never to become a sappy Christmas tree—and never to leave its spot. Its determination makes it so: It grows gnarled and twisted and needle-less. As time passes, the farm is swallowed by the suburbs. The neighborhood kids dare one another to climb the scary, grumpy-looking tree, and soon, they are using its branches for their imaginative play, the tree serving as a pirate ship, a fort, a spaceship, and a dragon. But in winter, the tree stands alone and feels bereft and lonely for the first time ever, and it can’t look away from the decorated tree inside the house next to its lot. When some parents threaten to cut the “horrible” tree down, the tree thinks, “Not now that my limbs are full of happy children,” showing how far it has come. Happily for the tree, the children won’t give up so easily, and though the tree never wished to become a Christmas tree, it’s perfectly content being a “trick or tree.” Martinez’s digital illustrations play up the humorous dichotomy between the happy, aspiring Christmas trees (and their shoppers) and the grumpy tree, and the diverse humans are satisfyingly expressive.
Just the thing for anyone with a Grinch-y tree of their own in the yard. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4926-7335-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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