Red

by Jan De Kinder

School Library Journal K-Gr 2-Originally from Belgium, this quiet yet powerful book addresses bullying. When a little girl notices her classmate blushing, her initial amusement turns to regret as a wink, a grin, and a laugh to the others make things much worse. Though Tommy repeatedly asks to be left alone, the children, especially Paul, continue to laugh and jeer at him. "Paul stares at me. 'Got something to say?' he gives Tommy a push. I shrug my shoulders and bite my lip. I don't say anything." The little girl shares her internal struggle to stand up for her friend versus her fear of the bully, whose "tongue is as sharp as a knife. And.fist is as hard as a brick." Yet, when the teacher questions the group, her fear is ultimately overpowered by her conscience. A wordless spread of angry, guilty, and ashamed faces all awash in red depicts the little girl in full color, bravely raising her hand. To her surprise, other hands follow-"Everyone saw what happened. We all talk at once. I can breathe again. I'm not all on my own." Though the bully confronts her later, the other children rally to her side. Using a palette of primarily red, black, and cream, the appealing cartoon illustrations are rendered in pencil, charcoal, ink, aquarelle, acrylic, and collage. VERDICT The tasteful, sensitive treatment of an important topic is sure to spark class discussion.-Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Book list *Starred Review* From the proliferation of red throughout this book, we know visually it has strong emotional content, and the cover, with a dispirited boy being gawked at by others, adds to its impact. This is a book about bullying. Tommy's blushing makes him a target, and he is depicted downcast and alone, tormented by others. Told in the first person by the narrator, the girl who first pointed out Tommy's difference, the story comes full circle as she musters her courage and stands up for him. While the text is sparse (and in red), as the teasing builds to a crescendo, the distinctive pencil, charcoal, ink, acrylic, and collage art dramatically shows events spinning out of control. Illustrations of classmates show primarily upper torsos and heads, as the bullying comes from laughter and taunting. As the situation worsens, classmates become animal-like: hairy, with teeth-like edges. The ringleader, Paul, is now a predator, all teeth, tongue, and claws. It takes two more pages of hesitation before that one brave red-and-white-sleeved arm is lifted in a sea of scowling faces, and the tide is turned. Pair this thoughtful, accessible story with Jacqueline Woodson's Each Kindness (2012) for an account of the regret that follows not standing up for someone else.--Ching, Edie Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly Belgian writer De Kinder watches as a child agonizes about whether to intervene when a bully torments her schoolmate. Tommy blushes easily, especially when people mention it, and the unnamed narrator starts the trouble herself: "You're... you're blushing," she says, pointing. Others join in: "Do it again! Do it again!" they taunt. De Kinder's brushed ink and gouache artwork makes plain the mean-spiritedness of their whispering. But then a boy named Paul pushes the teasing into genuine cruelty, laughing loudly and pushing Tommy. "I want Paul to stop right now," the girl thinks in desperation as the schoolyard wall and the buildings beyond take on the red of Tommy's cheeks. "I'm scared of Paul," she confesses. "What I want to do is scream really loud.... And yell that it has to stop. But I stay silent." When a teacher appears, the girl finds the courage to raise her hand ("Did anyone see what happened?"), an action that prods others to join her. "I'm not all on my own," she realizes. A useful opening into discussions about taking a stand when others do wrong. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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