A compassionate, tender, and necessary read.
A child battles anxiety and invasive thoughts in Bournelis’ debut children’s novella.
Louie’s anxiety is spinning out of control. His 10th birthday is coming up, but he won’t be able to have a birthday party with friends due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Making things worse is the Dictator—an inner voice that constantly tells Louie that if he doesn’t do as he says, there will be catastrophic consequences. Louie tries to ignore it, but in the end, the Dictator always seems to win out: He makes Louie check his bag several times to make sure there are two masks in it; tells him to take rubber gloves to school even though he’s not allowed to wear them there; and insists that Louie must rewrite the answers for a math quiz until the numbers perfectly fit the boxes. The Dictator’s voice becomes stronger the more Louie’s anxiety ratchets up, telling him he’s “going to be in so much TROUBLE” numerous times a day. One day, the Dictator tells him his favorite dish is poisoned, so Louie refuses to eat it. His mom becomes upset, and, because Louie knows his situation is worsening, he asks her for help. His parents take him to see someone they call a “mind wizard” who diagnoses him with obsessive-compulsive disorder and gives him strategies to deal with the Dictator. The novel is narrated from Louie’s perspective, effectively focusing on his emotions as he deals with paralyzing anxiety on a daily basis. Louie also models proactive behavior as he gets help, takes his sessions seriously, and begins to improve. In addition, Bournelis reveals how her protagonist makes assertive decisions to “plan a crushing counterattack” against the Dictator; she also shows how his newfound courage is put to the test when his beloved dog, Bailey, gets lost. The text is punctuated by occasional, uncredited black-and-white illustrations of Louie that are well executed. The story will create awareness about mental health issues in children as it empowers its protagonist to change his own life.
A compassionate, tender, and necessary read.Pub Date: July 17, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-228-85768-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Tellwell Talent
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists.
How to raise money for a coveted poster: put your friends to work!
John, founder of the FUBU fashion line and a Shark Tank venture capitalist, offers a self-referential blueprint for financial success. Having only half of the $10 he needs for a Minka J poster, Daymond forks over $1 to buy a plain T-shirt, paints a picture of the pop star on it, sells it for $5, and uses all of his cash to buy nine more shirts. Then he recruits three friends to decorate them with his design and help sell them for an unspecified amount (from a conveniently free and empty street-fair booth) until they’re gone. The enterprising entrepreneur reimburses himself for the shirts and splits the remaining proceeds, which leaves him with enough for that poster as well as a “brand-new business book,” while his friends express other fiscal strategies: saving their share, spending it all on new art supplies, or donating part and buying a (math) book with the rest. (In a closing summation, the author also suggests investing in stocks, bonds, or cryptocurrency.) Though Miles cranks up the visual energy in her sparsely detailed illustrations by incorporating bright colors and lots of greenbacks, the actual advice feels a bit vague. Daymond is Black; most of the cast are people of color. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
It’s hard to argue with success, but guides that actually do the math will be more useful to budding capitalists. (Picture book. 7-9)Pub Date: March 21, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-56727-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on...
Continuing from their acclaimed Those Shoes (2007), Boelts and Jones entwine conversations on money, motives, and morality.
This second collaboration between author and illustrator is set within an urban multicultural streetscape, where brown-skinned protagonist Ruben wishes for a bike like his friend Sergio’s. He wishes, but Ruben knows too well the pressure his family feels to prioritize the essentials. While Sergio buys a pack of football cards from Sonny’s Grocery, Ruben must buy the bread his mom wants. A familiar lady drops what Ruben believes to be a $1 bill, but picking it up, to his shock, he discovers $100! Is this Ruben’s chance to get himself the bike of his dreams? In a fateful twist, Ruben loses track of the C-note and is sent into a panic. After finally finding it nestled deep in a backpack pocket, he comes to a sense of moral clarity: “I remember how it was for me when that money that was hers—then mine—was gone.” When he returns the bill to her, the lady offers Ruben her blessing, leaving him with double-dipped emotions, “happy and mixed up, full and empty.” Readers will be pleased that there’s no reward for Ruben’s choice of integrity beyond the priceless love and warmth of a family’s care and pride.
Embedded in this heartwarming story of doing the right thing is a deft examination of the pressures of income inequality on children. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6649-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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