BIG KIDS DON'T GET BUTTERFLIES

Graduating to the “big kid rides” is a memorable childhood milestone.

A brown-skinned youngster with a cascade of curls bounds out of bed. It’s time to go to the fair! The child is taller, stronger, and braver than last year. Forget all those rides that just go “ ’round and ’round.” “The big kid rides will take me up to the skies!” But first Mom decides the family needs to eat lunch. Then Dad wants everyone to play a game. And little sibling Sissy wants to go on the plane ride. Each time, the narrator responds with patience: “but next up—big kid rides!” The title and the drawn-out sense of suspense may lead readers to believe that our narrator will need to summon some courage when the big moment arrives, but a quick internal pep talk—“Hey! Big kids don’t get butterflies. Simmer down in there!”—is all that’s needed. The ride is ridden, and the narrator loves it—this is a straightforward story without much conflict. A slapdash lesson is tacked on to the end: Big kids can still do things they used to enjoy as well. Slightly stiff cartoon illustrations depicting striped awnings, classic rides, and cotton candy aplenty set the fairground scene. Dad is light-skinned with dark hair, Mom has brown skin with brown hair, and Sissy has lighter brown skin and brown hair in two puffballs. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Fairly unlikely to keep readers coming back for more.