A skillful and sympathetic portrayal of neurodivergent children, but context is lacking.
Henry has always been a bit different from the other kids.
He can multiply numbers in his head at warp speed, only refers to plants by their scientific names, is prone to sensory overload, and often misses social cues. His peers sometimes find his behavior frustrating, and when some thoughtless older kids brand him as “weird,” he feels crushed: “Nobody understands me. No one! I'm tired of being a kid.” Henry finds solace in nature, so when his class takes a field trip to the Botanical Garden—one of his favorite haunts—he’s really in his element. The tour guide, Ms. Rose, lets Henry introduce the plants to his classmates, who are impressed by, and grateful for, his knowledge of the vegetable kingdom. Afterward, everyone claps as the teacher presents Henry with a Trifolium repens (ahem, a four-leaf clover) for doing a great job. Deslauriers’ sensitive and revealing first-person narrative invites readers into the mind and emotions of a child on the autism spectrum. Despite his challenges, Henry is active, makes friends, and contributes positively at school. Després’ softly muted watercolor, gouache, and charcoal illustrations capture the confusion and sadness Henry feels as he navigates an environment he sometimes doesn’t understand as well as his happier moments and endearing qualities. Young readers who haven’t yet learned about autism may struggle to understand Henry’s behavior, particularly given the absence of educational backmatter—a missed opportunity in an otherwise lovely book.
A skillful and sympathetic portrayal of neurodivergent children, but context is lacking. (Picture book. 5-9)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4598-3083-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for...
A gentle voice and familiar pitfalls characterize this tale of a boy navigating the risky road to responsibility.
Gavin is new to his neighborhood and Carver Elementary. He likes his new friend, Richard, and has a typically contentious relationship with his older sister, Danielle. When Gavin’s desire to impress Richard sets off a disastrous chain of events, the boy struggles to evade responsibility for his actions. “After all, it isn’t his fault that Danielle’s snow globe got broken. Sure, he shouldn’t have been in her room—but then, she shouldn’t be keeping candy in her room to tempt him. Anybody would be tempted. Anybody!” opines Gavin once he learns the punishment for his crime. While Gavin has a charming Everyboy quality, and his aversion to Aunt Myrtle’s yapping little dog rings true, little about Gavin distinguishes him from other trouble-prone protagonists. He is, regrettably, forgettable. Coretta Scott King Honor winner English (Francie, 1999) is a teacher whose storytelling usually benefits from her day job. Unfortunately, the pizzazz of classroom chaos is largely absent from this series opener.
This outing lacks the sophistication of such category standards as Clementine; here’s hoping English amps things up for subsequent volumes. (Fiction. 6-9)Pub Date: Dec. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-97044-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2013
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