- The author-illustrator of such favorites as I'll Always Love You and Let's Be Friends Again! here addresses an issue near and dear to the egos of contemporary youngsters--the importance of being "cool." The boy who tells this story is so cool that he doesn't like to be hugged, except by his Grandma. Only to her will he confess the awful truth: his coolness is merely a facade, and he's actually terrified without the night-light on. When Grandma goes on vacation, she gives the boy a teddy bear to keep him company. Although his parents think he's too old for a stuffed animal (and the boy thinks it's a weird present for a cool kid), in Grandma's absence the bear becomes a confidant, listening patiently as the boy tells of his inner fears--fears that most children will relate to. Once again, Wilhelm proves that he knows his audience inside and out, and knows how to reach them in words and pictures. This book will reassure youngsters who share the narrator's interest in appearing cool, as well as those who know someone like him--a broad universe indeed. Ages 3-7.
- Kindergarten-Grade 3-- A refreshingly honest picture book, told in the first person by an only child. His busy, emotionally distant parents treat him as if he were a third adult in the household, but he does get love and attention from his grandmother. When Grandma leaves for a long vacation, she gives the boy a teddy bear, to whom he can confide his nighttime fears of being laughed at, of not having a best friend, of his parents arguing. The story ends on an upbeat note, with his apprehensions subsiding in the daylight, and his grandmother's return. Wilhelm conveys plenty of emotion in a brief text, and the watercolor illustrations beautifully enhance both meaning and mood of the story. Especially effective is a picture showing the child leaning against a wall, framed on each side by the shadow of an angry parent. Picture books depicting more dramatic problems have become fairly commonplace, but not many approach the subject of a middle-class family in which a child may be ignored or misunderstood. A sympathetic look at how life can be in an imperfect, human world, where both young and old can thrive by building support systems. --Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library
