Smoot

July 17, 2017
Smoot is a shadow attached to a boy whose life is terribly dull: “Every day they brushed the same teeth, frowned the same frown, and drew the same pictures—always staying perfectly inside the lines.” While Smoot’s life is boring, Smith’s ink, brush, and watercolor portraits are anything but. To emphasize Smoot’s inky blackness, Smith (The White Cat and the Monk) keeps the colors bright and contrast high; tiled roofs and cobbled streets give the city backdrop a European feel. One day Smoot comes unstuck from his boy and seizes his new freedom, jumping rope in the park, riding a carousel, and dashing through a landscape of wild splashes of watercolor. When other bored shadows jump at the chance to live out their own suppressed dreams, Smoot must persuade them all to return. The shadow’s change of heart is a bit convenient, but Cuevas’s (The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles) writing sparkles. Smoot’s condition as a shadow parallels the way most humans are tethered to inescapable obligations. When his boy breaks out and starts to live large, it’s easy to share Smoot’s joy. Ages 4–8. Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management.

Starred review from July 1, 2017
In the middle of a city filled with Old World stuccoed walls and tiled roofs, a boy's shadow yearns to break free. "If life is a book, then Smoot the Shadow had been reading the same yawn-colored page for seven and a half years." The light-skinned boy connected to the protagonist--clad in shorts, jacket, and baseball cap--leads a rigid, mostly black-and-white life; he colors inside the lines. Smoot (a blend of "smudge" and "soot"?) finally breaks free. As the shadow wordlessly, gleefully skips rope, rides a carousel, and climbs a tree, the boy is ever watchful from the margins. Inspired, other shadows follow their dreams: a frog's shadow turns into a prince, and a dragonfly's breathes fire. Imagining unintended consequences were this to continue, Smoot quickly finds satisfying, child-sized solutions for his restless counterparts and reunites with his boy, whose own spark has been ignited. Cuevas' plotline radiates freshness and celebrates the rewards of risk-taking. Smith has a keen understanding of the power of the contrast between blackness and color. Employing ink and watercolor, he skillfully exploits this dynamic to both foreground the silhouetted characters and, in concert with decisions about when to use frames or full bleeds and controlled lines or looser strokes, to underscore the distinctions between a constricted and unfettered existence. Not since Peter Pan's has a shadow commanded such well-deserved attention. (Picture book. 4-7)

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August 1, 2017

K-Gr 2-A bored shadow cuts loose and explores the wider world. Tired of being bound to a young boy and having to "[brush] the same teeth, [frown] the same frown, and [draw] the same pictures-always staying perfectly inside the line," Smoot the shadow dreams of singing "canary-yellow songs" and dancing "in wildflower red." When he's suddenly popped free of his boy, he skips rope in the playground with a pair of kids, rides a merry-go-round, and climbs a tall tree-all captured in a six-page wordless sequence. The other shadows see all the fun Smoot's having and decide to join the rebellion. A frog's shadow takes the shape of a haughty prince, a dragonfly's shadow transforms into a fearsome fire-breathing dragon, and the seemingly humble shadow of a rock morphs into a towering castle. The shadows are having more fun than their owners! Just when it seems as if the entire world's population of shadows will leave their natural places, Smoot helps bring them back where they belong and, in the process, helps the shadow's owners-and his own boy-live life more fully. Confident storytelling and humorous details ("He packed a few things-some shade, some moonlight, a change of underpants-and hit the road.") make for a delightful read-aloud. Smith's loose line and fluid ink and watercolors perfectly capture the ever-so-slightly mischievous and joyful tone of Cuevas's text. Thick black crayon defines Smoot and his fellow shadowkind. VERDICT Young readers will be hooked by the beguiling premise and respond to the gently delivered message about living life with intention and imagination.-Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2017
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Imagine living a life so predictable that your own shadow rebels against you. Smoot the shadow does not know the name of the boy he is forced to follow; Smoot only knows that every day is exactly the same, with the boy never, ever doing anything lively. When Smoot is unexpectedly unstuck, he cannot wait to try new things. He takes off for the park, skipping rope, riding a merry-go-round, and climbing trees. In each exuberant ink-and-watercolor illustration, the boy, identifiable by his red cap and gray jacket, can be seen hesitantly following along the edges. Soon other shadows notice Smoot and become emboldened to follow their own dreams, and shadows of a flower, cricket, grasshopper, frog, dragonfly, and rock leave their anchors behind. Worried about the consequences of shadows on the loose, Smoot helps each pair find ways to incorporate their big wishes into their daily lives with their nonshadow companions. Finally only Smoot's boy needs to reunite with his shadow, and he's eager to shake up his daily life, too. Just like Smoot and the boy, the text and illustrations of this book fit together seamlessly, each making the other better. Smith's inky shadows and bright watercolor washes are imbued with lively movement, which perfectly capture Smoot's boundless energy. Inspiring without being at all sappy, Smoot's rebellion produces rich results.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)