I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi
The dreaded boredom has set in in this very funny picture book. A little girl is so bored she is flat on her back moaning when she notices a potato. When she tosses the potato away, not knowing what to do with it, the potato says that it too is bored. The potato goes on to tell the little girl that kids are boring. She insists that no, kids are fun and the potato challenges her to prove it. She shows the potato all the physical things she can do, then demonstrates using her imagination, but through it all the potato stays unimpressed. There is a great twist at the end of the book that you will have to read for yourself. A funny read that will have even the most bored child enjoying themselves.
Done entirely in dialogue, this is a fast-moving picture book. It begs to be read aloud with a grungy, dusty potato voice. The ever-bored potato is a great foil to the little girl who despite herself loses herself in her imagination and actions. It’s a lesson that kids are anything but boring, even when they themselves are bored.
The illustrations have a great rough feel to them. Done digitally, there is a feel of the organic roughness of a block print. I particularly enjoy seeing a little girl not in pink or done up cutely. This little girl is a real one, one that throws herself into things and that includes being willing to argue with a potato.
This is one book that is anything but boring. Appropriate for ages 4-6.
Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Waking Brain Cells 