Seamus's Short Story

June 19, 2017
This familiar-seeming tale about being small in a world built for the tall takes an unexpected and rewarding turn. Seamus, bespectacled and cowlicked, hates being unable to reach things like “the chocolate milk in the fridge, the shelf where Dad keeps the TV remote,” and a “horrid picture” of himself as a baby. “He’d give his prized taxidermy collection to be tall,” writes Hartt-Sussman (Noni Speaks Up), but there’s no need: Seamus discovers that his mother’s high heels provide exactly the lift he’s looking for. Gender norms don’t come up, there isn’t a whiff of objection to his decision, and Seamus radiates confidence as he strides through life: “He feels free. It is wonderful being tall (except that sometimes his feet hurt).” In loose, splashy scenes, Pavlovic (Kabungo) taps into Seamus’s newfound joy with a vivid palette featuring bright pinks, purples, and blues, and he leaves little doubt about how the boy’s life has improved. For Seamus, heels are about utility, not fashion or identity—one gets the sense he’s breaking “rules” he doesn’t know about in the first place. Ages 4–7.

June 15, 2017
A diminutive boy finds a gender-bending solution to reach greater heights.Short Seamus is frustrated that "the world appears to be made for tall people." He can't reach many things, and attempts to make a running jump and to stand on a rickety chair and a wobbly stepladder are futile. He even tries sitting on his big brother's shoulders "(but they are not quite high enough)." This last parenthetical statement calls into question the logic of the solution he ultimately discovers: wearing a pair of his mother's "high high-heeled shoes." Despite this narrative hole, Seamus' delight at reaching everything from "the top button in the elevator" to "the chocolate milk in the fridge" is apparent. Notably, no one questions his decision to wear traditionally feminine footwear, though there is one illustration with two neighbors looking askance across the property line fence. It's Seamus who ends up questioning the shoes when he realizes that there are some nice things about being short, but he ends up deciding that there are times when it's good to be tall and others when it's good to be small. The colored pencil-and-ink illustrations adopt a cartoon style and seem to depict all characters as white people, though outlines in blue indicate nonrealistic skin colors. To quote the closing text: "And that's the long and short of it." (Picture book. 4-7)

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August 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-In this hilarious tale, Seamus, a big-headed and blue-haired kid, hates being short. He can never reach what he needs to, including a "horrid" baby picture of himself. He explores a few ineffectual options until he discovers his mom's high heels and, suddenly, he is "having a blast." Seamus's being a boy in pumps passes without comment; high heels are simply a tool that makes Seamus feel great. The illustrations, in rich watercolor and colored pencil, are elegantly patterned and arranged on white backgrounds. The illustrations of Seamus joyfully grabbing the remote and absconding with his embarrassing baby picture are particularly exuberant. Then one day he realizes that some things are pretty low to the ground and being short wouldn't be so bad, which leads him to deliberate on the merits of both before deciding that he doesn't have to choose, a refreshing resolution. The delightful story concludes with a wonderful rendering of a cat, who is present on most of the pages, gleefully wearing four long turquoise cowboy boots. VERDICT A clever and very funny picture book about living life on one's own terms. A first purchase.-Lisa Nowlain, Nevada County Community Library, CA

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