Review - Truman

Truman
by Jean Reidy
illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Date: 2019
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

After his best friend Sarah leaves for her first day of school, a tortoise named Truman goes on an adventure across the living room and learns to be brave in this thoughtful and heartwarming twist on a first experience story.

Truman the tortoise lives with his Sarah, high above the taxis and the trash trucks and the number eleven bus, which travels south. He never worries about the world below…until one day, when Sarah straps on a big backpack and does something Truman has never seen before. She boards the bus!

Truman waits for her to return.
He waits.
And waits.
And waits.
And when he can wait no longer, he knows what he must do.

Even if it seems…impossible!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Aww. This is too cute.

This simple story is about a tortoise named Truman who lives with a little girl named Sarah (adorably referred to as "his Sarah") in an apartment above a busy street. One morning, she gives him some extra green beans, takes her "large" backpack, and gets on the bus! Truman waits and waits for her to return, but when she doesn't, he decides he'll just have to get on that bus and go after her himself. The only problem is, he's in a tank on the far side of the living room.

The story is pretty basic, but it clearly shows the friendship between the two and how much they value and love each other. The ending is cute, too (as well as completely plausible). The sketch-like illustrations complement the story perfectly; the characters may not be drawn realistically, but their facial expressions still convey plenty of emotion.

This is a great story about going to school for the first time, and might be appreciated by small children whose older siblings are off to kindergarten. Even though they're going away for a while, they're going to come back. It's a reassuring message for those left behind.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4.5 out of 5