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The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2015. Reviewed from ARC.


The Plot: Everything has been different since Matt's mom died. It's his senior year of high school, but her loss makes him feel like a stranger. His father isn't coping.

Matt's done well in school, so he has half-days. He was supposed to do a work-study program, but, well, with his mom dying he wasn't in school so he lost his place. Still, he needs a job to fill up his time and to earn money to help his dad out.

At first when his neighbor Mr. Ray offers a job in his funeral home, Matt thinks "no way." He finds a strange sort of comfort in seeing the sorrow of others. Then he meets Lovey, who has lost her mother and now her grandmother, and it makes him rethink how he's been living, and how he's been grieving.

The Good: What is so frustrating about The Boy in the Black Suit is it sounds like a dead parent book. And, I guess, it is. Matt's mom has just died, and he that loss, her loss, is shattering, and part of this book is how he lives through that. But it's so much more than that, including funny and romantic.

Matt is an only child, and his parents were very much still in love, and his father takes his wife's loss badly. He starts drinking and ends up in the hospital, leaving Matt alone. Matt isn't really alone: there is his best friend, Chris, who proves to be a good friend by not treating Matt any different. And there is Mr. Ray, who Matt thought of as the old guy neighbor and who now becomes a mentor. And then there is Lovey....

I don't want to say Matt is happy when he sees others cry and break at a loved one's funeral. Instead, it makes him feel less alone in his own loss. It's cathartic. And Mr. Ray understands; he's had his own losses. Matt's dad and Mr. Ray show Matt ways of grieving, and then Lovey shows him another -- a way that mourns while celebrating. Matt falls for Lovey, but also sees another way forward.

Also good: The Boy in the Black Suit is set in Brooklyn, and there's a mix of people, from Matt's family and their brownstone to Chris's family in an apartment building. Matt describes his family as "I went from a not-so-fancy version of the Cosbys to a one-man family." Chris is being raised by a single mother; Lovey, by her grandmother. It's a variety of people and backgrounds, all in one same neighborhood.

Chris's mother is dead before the book begins, but her spirit and love is on every page. One thing his mom had done (even before she knew she had cancer) was to create a notebook of recipes, which she called "The Secret of Getting Girls, for Matty." It's partly a family joke, that girls like guys who cook. And it's partly her love for her son. And it's partly her saying Matty, yes, you need to know how to cook, for you. This notebook is lurking around, and part of the sweetness of this book is how Matt moves from living off fast food and take out, even though he knows how to cook and his this book, to being able to open the notebook without his heart breaking.



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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

Another wonderful illustration from Barbara DiLorenzo sent this in for our enjoyment. Barbara graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (1998 BFA in Illustration) and was featured on Illustrator Saturday April 14th 2012. Click here to see her artwork and interview.

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At Penguin Random House Audio, Louise Quayle returns to the company, as senior acquisitions editor. Catherine Bucaria was promoted to assistant acquisitions editor, and Emily Parliman was hired as assistant acquisitions editor a few weeks ago, reporting to Rebecca Waugh.

At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Emma Ledbetter has been promoted to associate editor, Atheneum Books, while Dani Young moves up to associate editor, S&S Books for Young Readers/Atheneum/McElderry Books.

Former publishing director at Walker Children’s Emily Easton is joining Crown Children’s as executive editor on May 19, reporting to Phoebe Yeh.

At Crown, Julian Pavia has been promoted to senior editor, while Christine Kopprasch moves up to editor.

Sari Feldman, executive director for the Cuyahoga County Public Library, has been named ALA President.

Brittney Ross has been promoted to associate editor for Hudson Street Press/Viking/Plume.

Krestyna Lypen has joined Algonquin Young Readers in the newly created position of associate editor. She was most recently associate editor of children’s books for Workman Publishing.

At Chronicle Books, Sarah Golski has been promoted to managing editor of the lifestyle group.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Reviewed by Carma Dutra, Picture Book Reviewer for the National Writing for Children Center

Title: Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers
Author and Illustrator: Sam Lloyd
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (May 20, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1416957960
ISBN-13: 978-1416957966

The story begins with Mr. Pusskins and Emily singing and thinking that life couldn’t get any better. One day, Mr. Pusskins’ world is shattered when his owner, Emily, brings home a fabulous surprise named Little Whiskers who happens to be a baby kitten! Mr. Pusskins doesn’t want a kitten around. He is perfectly happy being an only pet. However, Little Whiskers has other ideas as most young kittens do. Mr. Pusskins wants to send Little Whiskers a way ASAP. The plot thickens when Mr. Pusskins writes a letter “To whom it may concern,” to get rid of Little Whiskers. But Mr. Pusskins is accused of making hideous noises and of waking up Little Whiskers. Emily banishes Mr. Pusskins outside in the cold rain.

Author and illustrator Sam Lloyd does a marvelous job of depicting emotions with Mr. Pusskins’ big frowning eyes and his orange scruffy coat. In opposition, Little Whiskers is cute, small and white. This wonderful and funny story shows children that jealously can cause trouble while forgiveness has great rewards. As the end of the story says “And now life is perfect!” Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers is a great love story for the young set.

I read this story to my six year old granddaughter and she laughed out loud several times. This is what a picture book with good illustrations should be about. Lloyd’s illustrations cover the full page with a few that spread across two pages. Action words like BAM and CLUNK are drawn in broad black strokes and much larger than the text.

About the Author Sam Lloyd was born in the north of England, but migrated to sunny Brighton. She works on art projects with children at a local school, and paints large murals. Sam’s great passions range from swimming in the Brighton Sea and gardening to traveling to far parts of the world, where she has found much inspiration for her writing and illustrating of children’s books.

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Carma Dutra is a freelance writer and children’s writer. Get children’s writing tips and reviews of award winning books by visiting Carma’s Window. Download the free EBooks, Tips for Children’s Writers and Illustrators, and Unite to Write, a compilation of thirteen top expert authors as read on Ezine article directory.