It's Tough to Lose Your Balloon

Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the author and illustrator of Punk Farm, Peanut Butter and Jellyfish, and Baghead, among numerous other picture books, as well as the popular Lunch Lady graphic novel series. He lives with his family and a pug named Ralph Macchio in Northampton, Massachusetts.

PreS-Gr 1—Teachers and parents today know the importance of teaching young children resilience. This book explores common childhood frustrations, acknowledges the feelings, and helps point the way toward coping. The difficulties are everyday occurrences such as ice cream melting or legs getting scraped, not large-scale tragedies, so the tone remains optimistic throughout. Not every situation will resonate with every child, but the premise of looking for the positive has universal appeal. The book design and cheerful, exuberant pictures carry out the theme. A color-saturated full page describes the problem, along with a single page illustration. The "problem" spread leads to a two-page image celebrating a constructive outcome. For example, in the sandwich section, the text reads, "It's sad to drop your sandwich in the sand...but it will make some seagulls very happy." The illustration shows that another child split her own undropped sandwich and shared, helping children understand that sometimes they have to look further for a solution. Adults can forget how things that seem small to them can be significant in a child's world. The warm tone of this story is a reassuring reminder to children that a situation can be bad, but they will be okay. The simple design leaves room for exploration, writing, and discussion as children could think of something that happened to them and remember or imagine a way to handle it. VERDICT Most libraries will want to add this appealing title.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA