One of a Kind

March 1, 2018
A picture-book celebration of individuality and community.An affirming, first-person text is paired with digitally manipulated photo art to follow the narrator through contemplations about what it means to be "a little different." The text never assigns gender, and the illustrations embrace this ambiguity. The child sports a mohawk hairstyle and on different spreads is depicted wearing a leather jacket, dark jeans, a white tank top, and Converse high-tops. Throughout, the child listens to music, dances, and drums, developing the character as a pint-sized punk rocker and rejecting a strict gender binary. It isn't always easy. "I like being one of a kind" reads one spread with the child exultant at a drum set, but a page turn shifts the tone and leads up to the line "It can be lonely and frustrating!" with the child now sitting dejectedly on a front stoop. Until this point, all spreads have presented the child alone, but then finding an accepting group of peers "who are a little different, too" is just what the narrator needs. The other kids are all musical, too, and they form a band. Just as gender is unspecified by text, race is never named, and illustrations can be read as presenting the narrator and one other child as kids of color, though skin color isn't apparent, with just the white of the page and some shading.Rock on, kids! (Picture book. 3-8)

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April 2, 2018
The boy who narrates this story has a tight leather jacket, a drum kit, and a spiky fauxhawk haircut. “I’m a kid who’s always been a little different,” he says. “Maybe it’s the way I dress. Or the music I like.” As in his picture book Indi Surfs, Gorman alters black-and-white photographic images to make striking halftones with rich black shadows. The text is laid out on torn paper scraps of pink and yellow, in the style of Sex Pistols album art. It’s not easy being different, the boy admits; “It can be lonely and frustrating!” He sits on the front steps of a building, his head on his arms. Then, three other kids show up with their own instruments to keep him company. “It’s great to be one of a kind together,” the boy decides, as the kids perform at high volume. Children who feel different for reasons outside their control—the places they’re from, the way their bodies look—may feel that this boy’s challenges don’t speak to theirs. But readers whose unconventional tastes are at odds with the authorities will enjoy his energy and self-assurance. Ages 5–8.

May 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 2-This is a story about a young boy who marches to the beat of his own drum, though he occasionally does feel lonely. Set in the city, the boy dresses in jeans, T-shirts, and a leather jacket and boots, with hair cut in a mohawk. He loves to play the drums and listen to punk music. He hears the sounds of the city and feels the energy of its pulse. This is displayed through the use of bold black text on a bright, ripped-paper banner over digitally modified black-and-white photographs. The stark contrast in colors on each page could represent the intense feelings of the protagonist enjoying his independence and interests while still feeling isolated. Gorman has penned an exceedingly relatable book and most readers will connect with the protagonist's dilemma, regardless of their music tastes. There is a happy ending when the child finds other kids to form a band with. VERDICT A must-have wherever music, especially punk rock, is popular.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018
Grades K-2 Addressing the reader directly, an upper-elementary-aged child with soulful dark eyes and spiked hair declares, I'm a kid who's always been a little different. The child discusses the clothes he wears, the music he likes, and the way he dances and styles his hair. Black-and-white visuals created with cameras and computers contrast with white text on a pink background or black text on yellow. The words have the appearance of torn strips of paper superimposed on the images and backgrounds. A dramatic two-page spread with the child in the middle, eyes closed and holding drumsticks, asks, Could it be the way I hear the world? Sounds of the city, emphasized by pink and yellow accents, surround him. The child is comfortable with himself, but also appreciates finding three more children who are a little different, too. Keeping with the musical theme, the kids form a band, and the image of their group performance is joyous. Bold, vibrant design showcases the child's emotions in this picture book with a perennial message of self-acceptance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)