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

Review - This Is Not a Valentine

This Is Not a Valentine
by Carter Higgins
illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins
Date: 2017
Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

This book is not a valentine. It doesn't have lacey edges or sugary hearts. But it is full of lucky rocks, secret hiding spots, and gumball machine treasures. This is a book about waiting in line and wishing for cinnamon buns. About recognizing that if you care so much about someone not thinking you care, maybe you really do. But wait--isn't that exactly what love is about? Maybe this book is sort of a valentine after all. A testament to handmade, wacky, bashful, honest love--sure to win over the hearts of all readers--this offering from debut picture book author Carter Higgins and children's book veteran Lucy Ruth Cummins is the perfect gift to celebrate every relationship, from parent to child, sibling to sibling, partner to partner, crush to crush.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

There were parts of this book that I liked, but there were some others that seemed kind of problematic, and the whole thing felt a bit uneven to me.

Mainly, the thing I noticed is that the book feels dated. There are mentions of cursive (which isn't even taught anymore), a kid giving the jelly side of her PB&J to her friend (let's hope he doesn't have a deadly peanut allergy), and the mention of a number of old-fashioned games (that I'm not even sure are played anymore). As an adult, all of those things would be something I could imagine being in a book written for kids when I was a kid myself... decades ago. So it almost seems like a case of the author being a little out of touch.

Some of the "non-Valentines" are sweet, like the cheap ring that matches the girl's best shoelaces or the self-portrait she draws for the boy, even though the green marker was the only one that worked. The idea of this book is nice, showing that tokens of affection don't always have to be traditional, store-bought gifts or cards; in these cases, it really is the thought behind the "non-Valentines" that counts.

The artwork... was odd. The kids are fine, and they represent sort of a middle ground. There are a few illustrations that are ultra-realistic in comparison, and then a few (like the bus driver! What is up with the bus driver?!) that are so basic that it almost looked like someone forgot to finish them. So the visual aspect of the book seemed very uneven.

Overall, this wasn't terrible, and I thought the underlying premise was sweet. But the dated feeling and inconsistent artwork kind of brought my rating down a bit.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 2/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.17 out of 5