Joey and the Giant Box

March 16, 2015
What kid doesn’t love a ginormous appliance box and all the pretend play possibilities it offers? But the dishwasher box takes up so much room in Joey’s house that his mother insists it go to recycling. Joey hits on another idea: turn the box into a collection barrel for the Star of David food bank and have all the kids at his Jewish day school contribute. It’s a story in service to a worthy cause, but Lakritz’s (Hello, Lily) brisk, cheery prose and Byrne’s (Bunny Starts School) cartooning—which features a standard-issue, wide-eyed cast with big round heads—don’t do much to soften the book’s blunt didacticism. (As soon as the box is carted away to the pantry, Joey’s teacher hands out tzedakah boxes explaining, “here is a much smaller box that can still do a big mitzvah.”) Given Joey’s relative maturity (he looks like an independent-minded kindergartner or first-grader), his initial cluelessness about hunger comes across as somewhat implausible. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agency: Advocate Art.

March 1, 2015
Beware of books about good role models.Kids hate it when their parents say, "I spend a fortune on a toy, and all the kids want to do is play with the box!" It sounds like an excuse to stop buying toys. But a box is still pretty terrific. In this book, Joey uses a carton as a spaceship and a fort. The problem is that the box takes up his entire room. When he tries to store it under the bed, it lifts the bedframe a yard into the air. (Byrne's illustration is hilarious. Joey looks equally delighted and terrified.) Inspired by a food drive at the supermarket, he decides to turn the box into a gigantic donation bin and collect food for the needy. This is touching, but not every reader will find it convincing. Joey sounds a bit mature and formal for a small child: "Please don't recycle my box yet....I want to collect food for hungry people-just like at the grocery store." Lots of children's books are propaganda (even-perhaps especially-Green Eggs and Ham), but the moral lesson in this book is more than a little heavy-handed. Joey would be more sympathetic if he didn't sound like an ad. He's about as believable as a parent who says, "My child would rather have a box than a toy." (Picture book. 4-8)