Anxiety lives with kids these days. Family bumps and rumbles, grief, friendship ups and downs, illnesses, schoolwork difficulties. Most of this stuff has always been with our youngsters. But the news is everywhere. And some of that news is awful. Parents can't just hide the headlines, or unplug the radio or the TV. Schools run active shooter drills. Most school require masks to fight the spread of a virus. Children have a lot to worry about.
Just Right Jillian by Nicole D. Collier , (due out in February 2022), follows Jillian, a ten-year-old, who lives in her classmate, Rashida's, shadow. In class competitions, Jillian is always neck in neck with Rashida but even if she knows the answer, Jillian bows her head and keeps still. Jillian blames Rashida for her own self-doubt and crippling shyness.
An energetic teacher, a year-end scholastic contest, the comforting memory of her grandmother, and Rashida, herself, all help Jillian deal with her worries.
- Jillian, herself. She is smart, creative, and trying to handle the loss of her grandmother, and her jealousy of a classmate. She KNOWS what she CAN do. She just has trouble doing it. BUT she is creative and - big SEL* word here - proactive. She takes small steps to rebuild her confidence and energy.
- Chicks!!! This is the best description of the egg-hatching activity that I have ever read. The teacher's comments have as much to do with life as they do with science. (Science and Life - so much better together!)
- Barely visible parents, for the most part. Jillian's parents are there and supportive but you don't get any lectures from them. BUT when they are needed for a dramatic plot device, WHOA! - they are awesome.
- Enemies to friends - and I am not talking about Jillian and Rashida here - or at least not that much. A small perception changes everything between a classmate and Jillian and her new friends - for the better.
When kids hit the double digits, their worlds grow. Their older eyes see more - sometimes more than is actually there. Seeing more means there is more to wonder about, learn about, question, worry about. Just Right Jillian is a perfect book for this age group.
(My advice though. Make Jillian look a tiny bit older on the cover. The chick is great. Keep the chick.)
* Social Emotional Learning
On Saturday, I came home to a surprise! The copy of Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds (cheer! cheer!), illustrated by Raul the Third, that I ordered two months ago finally arrived.
First, let me list all the things I liked about this book.
1. Best character name: Portico Reeves. Let that roll off your tongue. If you know the meaning of the words, forget them. LISTEN to the sound. It's lovely.
2. Best setting: In a castle! Actually in a highrise - although 10 floors may not be very high. But Portico tells us he lives in a castle and isn't that the best way to think about a big building with so many doors and windows and walls? It is.
3. Best best friend: Zola Brawner, who lives next door and who helped Portico discover his superhero identity - Stuntboy, the hero who takes all the risks.
4. Best segues between the story and a TV show: I can't remember if the show is called Super Space Wars or Super Space Heroes - or something else! But the two main characters - and heroes - Mater and Pater, seem to mirror some of Portico's problems. Also all the chapter openings, public service announcements and other TV inspired stuff is just plain fun!
5.The stunts! 'Nuff said.
5 1/2. The graphics. Duh!
Portico loves his building and his neighbors - except for one - but his life is full of anxiety. His parents keep shooing him out of the way "in the meantime". He hears "Mean Time" because of the shouting. It's up to Stuntboy to save the day!
A laugh out loud book, like Stuntboy, in the Meantime, shows different methods of calming oneself down - meditation, yoga, breathing exercises - and lets readers know that their feelings are THEIRS and those feelings can be bearable.
The kids will be all right.
