Genevieve Godbout

The illustrations are amazing. Genevieve Godbout at her best. Or her usual. I don't know. I kind of want her artwork in my home somewhere.

But the book itself left something to be desired. I know it was about mental health and sometimes, you just don't feel up to doing things--but you have friends who help you. I get it. I love that message. I just wanted more dialogue.

Sometimes illustrators need to stick to just illustrator. Same as when writers need to stick to just writing. Crossover isn't always successful!… (meer)

This simple story features a bouncy kangaroo named Maloo who loses his/her/their bounce one day when a gray cloud descends - apparently representing sadness or depression. This is depicted nicely in the first few pages as the energetic text ("Hop! Hop!") becomes uncertain ("Hop?"), beside an illustration of the clearly downcast kangaroo. The rest of the story involves Maloo's encounters with other animal characters, whose attempts to help include using fans (apparently trying to blow the bouncy animal aloft again), and then a large blanket (tossing Maloo into the air), until the kangaroo successfully bounces on their own accord once more. In the final spread, all the animals celebrate by hopping off together ("Hop-hop-hurray! Let's all hop like Maloo!"), with the non-kangaroos on pogo sticks.

While I liked the premise, I felt the execution here was somewhat lacking. The illustrations are expressive and appealing, but I didn't quite follow the internal logic of the story - why fans blowing you into the air would be unhelpful but a blanket tossing you into the air somehow would be. At first I assumed the author was setting up a story about needing to address the underlying cause of Maloo's sadness rather than just the superficial lack of bounciness, a bit like telling someone to smile rather than talking about what's making them sad. But instead, the second attempt at a superficial solution was actually successful, and we never do find out "what's up" with Maloo. Overall, I found this ending unsatisfying and lacking the positive mental health message I was hoping for.… (meer)

Maloo the Kangaroo seems to have lost his hop...will he be able to get it back with the help of his friends? Lovely illustrations, sparse text. It is never entirely clear why Maloo stops being able to jump in the first place, nor why he spontaneously gets it back. The action scenes seem a little overly complicated for younger kids, but older kids will enjoy helping you tell the story.

Thank you to Tundra Books and LibraryThing for the advanced copy of this book!*
*This did not affect my review or rating.… (meer)