  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 11/01/2012 In this story about one girl’s battle with the blues, her feelings are anthropomorphized into a giant blue blob named Blooz. He’s got limbs, a bulbous nose, and is wearing what appears to be an old-fashioned striped swimming costume. You weren’t invited, the little girl says to Blooz, but he doesn’t care and proceeds to dribble into her glass of chocolate milk and trickle into her socks. The girl asks Blooz many questions to ascertain his raison d’être—everything from Did somebody forget your birthday? to Is your best purple crayon broken? But when the girl and Blooz do some fun things together, the sadness starts to lift and, before long, Blooz is heading off into the clear—well, blue—sky. Davis’ soft illustrations use plenty of white space and effectively bring a child’s internal struggles into focus. Blooz may be a blob, and he may be uninvited, but he is actually kinda cute, which makes this a nonthreatening tool for discussing negative emotions with young children. - Copyright 2012 Booklist. School Library Journal - 11/01/2012 PreS-Gr 1—A little girl wakes up one weekend morning feeling out of sorts and knows the "Blooz"-big, drippy, lumpy, oozy, and violet blue-has come to visit her. She tries in vain to keep it out of her house-but it just keeps trickling its enormous wet self into her lemonade, chocolate milk, paints, and socks. "What's up, Blooz?" the child finally asks, trying to appease it with glitter Band-Aids, ice pops, and a soft blanket. Stymied and staring at each other, the twosome retreat to the girl's room, where their imaginations kick in with all sorts of fun play ideas. Eventually they head outside for a bike ride, but a bump on the road flips the Blooz high into the sky, where it disappears, leaving the youngster happily alone on "the brightest, bluest day." No adults figure in this allegorical story of a childhood funk, which the youngster bravely recognizes and, to her credit, resolves independently. Digitally painted, the whimsical cartoon illustrations gradually increase in color intensity as the little girl finds her way to a happier state of mind. Children will identify with her feelings in this tale, and it will have value as a springboard for discussing sadness and how to work through it.—Kathleen Finn, St. Francis Xavier School, Winooski, VT - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
 |