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Title details for Willow the Armadillo by Marilou Reeder - Available

Willow the Armadillo

by Marilou Reeder
Dave Mottram
ebook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A heartfelt story that celebrates picture books and reminds us real heroes come in all shapes and sizes

Willow the Armadillo loves picture books. More than anything, she wants to be the hero in a picture book of her very own. She knows that achieving her dream will take a lot of work, so she studies hard at Picture Book Academy and signs up for many auditions. But she just can't seem to land a leading role! After one last heartbreaking rejection, she heads to the library for some peace and quiet, and instead finds . . . chaos! And that's when Willow discovers something even better than being a hero in a book.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 28, 2020

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781683358558
    Kindle restrictions

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 2.7
    • Interest Level: K-3(LG)
    • Text Difficulty: 0-2

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      March 1, 2020
      Representation matters. Willow the armadillo loves picture books. She checks armfuls of them out of the library and desperately wants to see herself in one. She tries several things to achieve her goal: taking a heroism class, auditioning, answering an ad ("YOU COULD BE THE NEXT PICTURE BOOK HERO!"). Nothing works out, and she becomes discouraged. An unexpected crisis helps her discover how to be a hero--do the thing she loves the most and help others along the way. Bright, colorful illustrations depict various cartoon animal characters, some with more expressive faces than others. On the surface, Willow's story seems heartwarming; however, it seems to make light of a much more serious problem in the children's-book industry: a lack of representation not of animals but of children of color and other marginalized identities. Will children of color, children with disabilities, and children with LGBTQ identities wishing to see themselves represented as picture-book heroes see themselves in this pink armadillo? The denouement, in which Willow decides to be happy reading others' stories because "nothing could top being a hero in real life," feels like a slap in the face to those children who deserve to see themselves. What is needed right now are books that can serve as mirrors for children and offer them the chance to see themselves as literary, and literal, heroes. Sadly, this tale of picture-book representation misses a valuable opportunity. (Picture book. 5-8)

      COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
Kindle restrictions

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:2.7
  • Interest Level:K-3(LG)
  • Text Difficulty:0-2

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