12/02/2019
Ravi, a brown-skinned boy in a jaunty striped polo shirt and red shorts, feels the limitations of being “the youngest/ and the smallest/ in his family.” After he fails to spot the others during hide-and-seek and struggles to navigate the playground, Ravi becomes progressively angrier—and visibly redder—as he runs into incessant obstacles. When his father takes him for a consolation ice cream and there is none left for him, Ravi morphs into a flaming orange tiger, letting out a “ROAR!” This fearsome transformation gets Ravi everything—no person or thing stands in his way. Though he “did exactly what he wanted,” the others cease wanting to play with the wound-up feline, and after he apologizes for his rampage, Ravi turns back into a boy again. A note that Ravi’s transformation is an isolated incident perhaps undercuts the idea that everyone becomes deeply frustrated from time to time. Still, the narrative’s sentiment is earnest, and its familial affection, clear. Percival’s textural, digitally rendered artwork moves from color into grayscale as Ravi’s transformation occurs, and the child’s fiery emotions hold the spotlight. Ages 3–6. (Feb.)
An understated book about losing one's temper and the love of family.” —Kirkus Reviews
“The narrative's sentiment is earnest, and its familial affection, clear.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sweet and simple behavioral tale, this book . . . recognizes anger without either shaming or validating it and would be an easy entry point for a discussion about learning to control one's emotions or empathizing with those who might need a little extra help today.” —Booklist
“Encapsulates the message to all readers that anger is okay and that forgiveness is yours if you ask for it. A great addition to highlight emotional awareness.” —School Library Journal
“The message of acceptance . . . is presented in a child-appropriate and thoughtful manner.” —Booklist on PERFECTLY NORMAN
“A captivating tale about happiness, being yourself, and the magic of learning to spread your wings and fly.” —Foreword Reviews, starred review, on PERFECTLY NORMAN
“An ideal selection for storytimes.” —School Library Journal on PERFECTLY NORMAN
“Percival's message is emphasized through the canny use of color as a storytelling mechanism: Norman's world is in greyscale . . . As the wings come out, Norman and everything he's near turns technicolor.” —Publishers Weekly on PERFECTLY NORMAN
“The contrast of black-and-white illustrations with splashes of bright color complements the story's theme. . . . A heartwarming story about facing fears and acceptance.” —Kirkus Reviews on PERFECTLY NORMAN
“Percival treats worry like a natural part of life, including the idea that sharing worries with others is a good way to ensure “they never hung around for long." —Publishers Weekly on RUBY FINDS A WORRY
02/01/2020
PreS-Gr 1—A small boy turns into a ferocious beast after a frustrating day. Ravi is the smallest person in his family, even smaller than Biscuits, the dog. Most of the time he doesn't mind; but one day it all becomes too much, and in a rage Ravi turns into a tiger. Being a tiger is great, since no one dares to say no to a scary, roaring tiger. But after all his roaring, snatching, and screaming alienates the other kids on the playground, Ravi realizes that being a tiger isn't actually making him happy. It's at this point that Ravi's family catches up and with a hug and an apology, he is back to being a kid again. The digitally created illustrations feature detailed textures and line work. When Ravi's tiger transition begins, the background fades to black and white to further highlight the emotions writhing around him in bright red squiggles and splotches. Readers will notice how this visible indication of Ravi's anger slowly builds with each mounting frustration. The text consists mainly of Ravi's thoughts, delivered with the perfectly recreated cadence of a totally exasperated kid. Ravi's family is never upset at him for being angry, they just wait for his anger to fade. Even Biscuits looks understanding. Ravi's father's reassurance of, "That's okay, good job for saying sorry!" encapsulates the message to all readers that anger is okay and that forgiveness is yours if you ask for it. VERDICT A great addition to highlight emotional awareness. Recommended for purchase.—Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library
2019-10-27
Ravi is the smallest in his family—even Biscuits the dog is bigger.
Most of the time, Ravi is happy with his stature, but on one particular afternoon on the playground, Ravi is frustrated by the too-high monkey bars and the too-big slide. When his siblings race to the ice cream vendor before him and the vendor runs out of ice cream, Ravi is enraged. "He growled… / and a stripy tail popped out from the back of his shorts. / Then… / he sprouted two furry ears, sharp, pointy teeth, and stripy orange fur. // Ravi had turned into a TIGER!" Ravi's family is frightened: His brother hands the tiger his ice cream, and everyone vacates a bench when the tiger roars. Emboldened, Ravi conquers the monkey bars and slide but soon realizes that nobody wants to play with him because he is irrationally angry. All ends well with apologies and hugs. While unremarkable in themes, Percival's tale does depict a South Asian family engaged in everyday activities; that it's father-led normalizes the possibility that the family in the book is a single-father household. The illustrations are also quite punchy and dramatically flip from full-color to a very appropriate limited palette—orange, black, white—when Ravi is depicted as a tiger.
An understated book about losing one's temper and the love of family. (Picture book. 3-6)
