Get Me Out of This Book

April 1, 2019
Max, a formerly anxious bookmark, shares their journey to find strategies to manage their fear of the scary pictures in books. Stylized mixed-media illustrations create an air of whimsy and encouragement in an artistic style reminiscent of Oliver Jeffers': Scribbled lines pop against generous white space and a muted, textured color palette. Repetitive and at times rhyming, the text builds a rhythm that lends itself to read-alouds, especially for educators with students who seem to have difficulty regulating fear-related emotions. The text depicts Max's instinctive panic response before they demonstrate the three Navy SEAL approaches to fear taught at Bookmark School: "Breathe deeply," "Make a plan," and "Think good thoughts." Typography is utilized well here: The words "RULES AND TOOLS," which serve as a shorthand for the Navy SEAL strategies, are distinguished from the rest of the text by traditional serif type, while the words "SCARIEST pictures" appear in larger nonserif type. Attired in a jaunty red cap with a yellow tassel, Max is a peachy pink bookmark, while their unnamed trainer is a deep red color with a long, blue queue-like tassel and dramatically sloping eyebrows (unfortunately calling to mind problematic, one-sided depictions of Asian characters skilled in mindfulness and martial arts). An ambitious blending of emotional and psychological tools with fantasy that will serve the right reader well. (authors' note) (Picture book. 5-8)

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June 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-Max is a bookmark who is afraid of books. Actually, it's the pictures that really freak him out. The king cobra from The Jungle Book is the one that sent him over the edge and he decided he desperately needed to get some help. He went back to school to get a Special Bookmark Badge. At school, his trainer offers ideas on how to face his fears and make them go away. He learns to breathe deeply, make a plan, and think good thoughts. And it works! The art is just perfect for this story. The "scary" images are not nearly as scary as Max seems to think and the interspersing of darker images with the light takes the fright down a notch. Max, himself, is appealing and his emotions are shown best in the shape of his mouth and arch of his eyebrows. Consider pairing it with Ed Emberley's classic Go Away, Big Green Monster!, Patricia Polacco's Thunder Cake, Greg Pizzoli's The Watermelon Seed, and Emily Gravett's Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears. VERDICT Books that help children deal with fear are always helpful when done right and this one is. A solid addition for most collections.-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2019
Grades 1-3 Traumatized by frightening illustrations ( I couldn't LOOK and I SHOOK and I SCREAMED ), a timorous bookmark takes a course in how to cope with fear. Along with a Special Bookmark Badge, the flat, shirtless, pointy-headed narrator comes away with three techniques that are drawn, Dakos writes in an ending note, from Navy SEAL training: Breathe Deeply. Make a Plan. Think Good Thoughts. These prove helpful when the bookmark actually swaggers out in search of scary scenes and meets a seven-headed monster in a dark, locked closet. That aggressive attitude may not be appropriate, or safe, in some real-life situations, but young readers inclined to freak out, as the bookmark puts it, may find the suggestions themselves generally useful as coping strategies. Infante effectively employs spiky shapes and garish colors to evoke the bookmark's initial terror during its training. A serviceable addition to the shelf of advice about dealing with fears, boosted by a clever premise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2019
"I'm Max. I'm a bookmark who used to be SCARED TO DEATH of books. The pictures FREAKED me out!" What changed? Max earned a "Special Bookmark Badge" that required learning how to breathe correctly, make a plan, and think positively. This strategy may help nervous types, although the layouts, in which acrobatic fonts border feisty mixed-media art, may prove anxiety-provoking.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)