Affirming and helpful.
A child with dyslexia gains confidence in herself.
First-person text reveals at the outset that the narrator, Bea, is dyslexic. Appropriately, said text is set in a readable, sans-serif type to support dyslexic readers who might encounter her story, and she presents as a Black girl with big, red glasses, brown skin, and tightly curled black hair in Lee’s bright and engaging cartoon-style illustrations. Bea struggles to complete her work, drifts into daydreams, and finds ways to avoid reading aloud. She’s also fortunate to have a compassionate teacher, Ms. Bloom (who presents as White with lighter skin and cropped light-brown hair), who sees her challenges and offers accommodations. Rather than presenting Bea with common voice-to-text technological supports, Ms. Bloom gives her “some sort of ancient device” (a tape recorder), and Bea uses it to record stories that she tells aloud. Other kids become interested in her storytelling, and classmate Rudy (who presents as a White boy and who’s shown interest in Bea in prior spreads) offers to illustrate her words. Bea’s confidence gets a boost from this artistic collaboration and from others’ responses to the comic book she and Rudy create. A flash-forward closing scene shows Bea as an adult reading a book she’s authored to Ms. Bloom’s newest crop of students. Backmatter offers further information about dyslexia for adult readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Affirming and helpful. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3741-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back.
With such short arms, how can Tiny T. Rex give a sad friend a hug?
Fleck goes for cute in the simple, minimally detailed illustrations, drawing the diminutive theropod with a chubby turquoise body and little nubs for limbs under a massive, squared-off head. Impelled by the sight of stegosaurian buddy Pointy looking glum, little Tiny sets out to attempt the seemingly impossible, a comforting hug. Having made the rounds seeking advice—the dino’s pea-green dad recommends math; purple, New Age aunt offers cucumber juice (“That is disgusting”); red mom tells him that it’s OK not to be able to hug (“You are tiny, but your heart is big!”), and blue and yellow older sibs suggest practice—Tiny takes up the last as the most immediately useful notion. Unfortunately, the “tree” the little reptile tries to hug turns out to be a pterodactyl’s leg. “Now I am falling,” Tiny notes in the consistently self-referential narrative. “I should not have let go.” Fortunately, Tiny lands on Pointy’s head, and the proclamation that though Rexes’ hugs may be tiny, “I will do my very best because you are my very best friend” proves just the mood-lightening ticket. “Thank you, Tiny. That was the biggest hug ever.” Young audiences always find the “clueless grown-ups” trope a knee-slapper, the overall tone never turns preachy, and Tiny’s instinctive kindness definitely puts him at (gentle) odds with the dinky dino star of Bob Shea’s Dinosaur Vs. series.
Wins for compassion and for the refusal to let physical limitations hold one back. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4521-7033-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful.
This endearing picture book about a timid boy who longs to belong has an agenda but delivers its message with great sensitivity.
Brian wants to join in but is overlooked, even ostracized, by his classmates. Readers first see him alone on the front endpapers, drawing in chalk on the ground. The school scenarios are uncomfortably familiar: High-maintenance children get the teacher’s attention; team captains choose kickball players by popularity and athletic ability; chatter about birthday parties indicates they are not inclusive events. Tender illustrations rendered in glowing hues capture Brian’s isolation deftly; compared to the others and his surroundings, he appears in black and white. What saves Brian is his creativity. As he draws, Brian imagines amazing stories, including a poignant one about a superhero with the power to make friends. When a new boy takes some ribbing, it is Brian who leaves an illustrated note to make him feel better. The boy does not forget this gesture. It only takes one person noticing Brian for the others to see his talents have value; that he has something to contribute. Brian’s colors pop. In the closing endpapers, Brian’s classmates are spread around him on the ground, “wearing” his chalk-drawn wings and capes. Use this to start a discussion: The author includes suggested questions and recommended reading lists for adults and children.
Accessible, reassuring and hopeful. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-582-46450-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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