When You're Feeling Sick

November 7, 2016
Zac Brown Band guitarist Bowles (Amy Giggles) suggests that laughter is the best medicine when one is ill, serving up goofball scenarios and strained rhymes in an attempt to get under-the-weather children to crack a smile. The book mostly consists of a litany of things not to do when feeling sick, e.g. “Don’t pour chicken noodle soup over your head./ It’s made for your mouth and your belly instead” and “Don’t be afraid of needles or your nurse/ She’s not a wicked witch with a broom and curse./ (Nurses are the sweetest people in the whole universe!).” Elkerton (How to Catch an Elf) dutifully presents each scene in bold digital cartoons, even when they turn truly ridiculous (as when a blue-haired boy in pajamas soars through the night sky with toes that have been turned into balloons), but genuine laughs are few. Most of Bowles’s suggestions, such as making a “sickness monster face” or singing a Sickness Song to chase germs away, are unlikely to offer much comfort to ailing kids. Ages 3–7. Illustrator’s agency: Shannon Associates.

October 15, 2016
The guitarist and organist for the Zac Brown Band outlines what to do and not do when you are feeling sick.The advice runs the gamut from the humorous to truisms and upbeat platitudes, with a fair amount of silliness that has nothing to do with illness. Yes, chicken soup is meant for your mouth, not to be dumped on your head, and it's possible purple elephants might just eat all your food if you invite them for lunch. But even wading through the foolishness, there's not much to this. Simply saying something, for instance, doesn't make it so: "Don't be afraid of needles or your nurse. / She's not a wicked witch with a broom and curse." The author recommends two things to start feeling better and get rid of the germs: a silly face that involves sticking your fingers in your mouth (a sure way to share the illness) and a rhyming Sickness Song. But no matter what doctors or nurses do, no matter what silly faces one makes or rhyme one recites, there are some illnesses that won't get better, and Bowles' closing overlooks this fact: "Whatever you do, you must stay strong. / You might be sick now but you won't be for long. / You'll be running and swimming and swinging / And playing and dancing and you'll feel just fine. / Don't you worry one little bit, it's just a matter of time." The seemingly digital illustrations are brightly colored and show a wide array of diversity in gender and race and ability. Skip this in favor of some chicken soup. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-7)

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