Cape

April 1, 2023

K-Gr 3-The story of an African American child and his experience with his father's death on the day of his funeral. The child moves among various stages of grief, first denial and ultimately ending with acceptance, by finding comfort with his aunt and remembering his father's love. The full color artwork equally imparts emotional gravitas through dramatic scenes; people are shown grieving in darkness in the foreground or the background, with the child alone, wearing a red cape, distant from others until he begins to remember joyful memories. This book will serve as a private book for grieving children or for a family needing help while facing a loss. The sentences are brief, aptly demonstrating the difficulty of communicating the process of grieving. VERDICT Purchase for help with social-emotional learning and to give greater guidance to the trauma of loss for young children; this need not be used solely in cases of extreme grief, but to encourage empathy, understanding, and articulation of loss.-Vi Ha

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2023
In a weighty picture book debut that considers a child’s experience of grief, Johnson follows a Black child narrator who uses a red cape to navigate the emotions associated with losing a loved one. On the day of that loved one’s funeral, observational text describes the burial (“We ride in a slow parade of cars/ and place you by the stones”), while Thomas (My Fade Is Fresh) uses sedate blues and grays to capture the gathered mourners’ sadness and the child’s feelings. The child wears a bright red cape that flows freely across every image, and when the adults reminisce “at a party where no one smiles,” the child refuses to participate: “I. DON’T. WANT. TO.” Memories, the narrator says, “make my swallow hurt,” so “I block them with my cape. I fly them to outer space. I hide them in a sunken ship.” After suppressing the recollections, though, they bubble back up: bright, colorful hues depict the protagonist embracing joyful memories shared with the late figure, and recognizing the cape as a means of connection with the dearly departed and the living. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Kevin Lewis, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Chad Beckerman, CAT Agency.

Starred review from July 1, 2023
On the day of a funeral, a young brown-skinned boy wears the cape that the deceased gave him, as a shield against painful memories. After the funeral, the child continues to use the cape to block out the adults as they share memories of his loved one. Finally, he allows himself to remember. He recalls the man's laugh and his love. In his debut picture book -- "a love letter to my dad," per the appended note -- Johnson sensitively portrays a young child grappling with grief. The text is spare, with some wordless pages and many containing only one sentence. Despite the small number of words, the boy's big emotions are clear. Thomas's digital illustrations provide beautiful support to the story. In the opening pages, we can clearly see the boy's sadness through his downturned eyes and tears. Early images are slightly muted to portray his sadness; when he begins to allow his memories in, the images become more vibrant. This book is a very welcome and approachable way to discuss grief and death with young readers. In his author's note, Johnson provides more details about his own late father, "my own personal Superman." Nicholl Denice Montgomery

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from April 15, 2023
A child grapples with loss. A Black boy sits on his bedroom floor, holding his knees, looking bereft. Along with "a new haircut and suit for today," he has a red cape hanging from his chest of drawers--an item of clothing also worn by the brown-skinned action figure next to him. As he walks downstairs, red cape billowing out behind him, he comments, "Got my cape...in case I remember." After his auntie hugs him, a grayed-out parade of cars drives to the graveyard, where "We...place you by the stones." During the funeral and the repast at the house, the mourners' faces are indistinct or seen from behind, awash in grays or blues, representing the boy's refusal to engage with them emotionally. Dynamic hues fill the pages as he imagines himself fighting off memories with his cape, soaring through space and diving deep under the water--before suddenly finding himself surrounded by joyful memories of a loving Black man, presumably his dad (an author's note states that the story is rooted in Johnson's childhood experience of losing his father). Thomas' striking illustrations have a rounded softness, tempering the intensity though never sugarcoating it--this child's rage, sadness, loneliness, and love are palpable. Johnson's terse prose brims with emotion as the boy, amid his own mourning, covers his grieving auntie with the cape and promises, "I'll never forget." (This book was reviewed digitally.) A resonant child's-eye view of grief--and hope. (Picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 31, 2023
Preschool-Grade 2 *Starred Review* Through few words and forceful images, a child grapples with grief at the loss of a beloved adult in a powerful picture book that will sit alongside modern classics like The Rabbit Listened (2018), by Cori Doerrfeld, to help young readers process weighty emotions around bereavement. The child dons a red cape like armor--it was a gift, we learn, from his lost loved one. Through a funeral and repast, that cape, a pop of red amidst a sea of sadness, shields the boy from painful recollections. "Memories make my swallow hurt. I block them with my cape." Overwhelmed, the boy is unable to keep them at bay, and soon hazy golden orbs of indistinct moments transform into fully rendered memories of the boy with his loved one, whom the bereft child directly addresses. Allowing joy alongside his sadness brings the boy some comfort he then pays forward to a grieving auntie. Johnson's spare and accessible text delivers impactful page turns, and its self-protective terseness pairs seamlessly with Thomas' emotionally intense digital illustrations. Expressive facial features shine throughout, and the art effectively utilizes a palette shift from funereal cyans to warmer hues to underscore the positive impact of embracing grief. The relationship between the child and the deceased is unspecified, but an author's note calls the book "a love letter to my dad." A creative and compelling conversation starter for challenging times.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2023
On the day of a funeral, a young brown-skinned boy wears the cape that the deceased gave him, as a shield against painful memories. After the funeral, the child continues to use the cape to block out the adults as they share memories of his loved one. Finally, he allows himself to remember. He recalls the man's laugh and his love. In his debut picture book -- "a love letter to my dad," per the appended note -- Johnson sensitively portrays a young child grappling with grief. The text is spare, with some wordless pages and many containing only one sentence. Despite the small number of words, the boy's big emotions are clear. Thomas's digital illustrations provide beautiful support to the story. In the opening pages, we can clearly see the boy's sadness through his downturned eyes and tears. Early images are slightly muted to portray his sadness; when he begins to allow his memories in, the images become more vibrant. This book is a very welcome and approachable way to discuss grief and death with young readers. In his author's note, Johnson provides more details about his own late father, "my own personal Superman."

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)