FICTION

Call Me Jacob!

by Marie HÜBNER
Call Me Jacob! tr. from German by Nicholas Miller. illus. by Iris Wolfermann. 32p. NorthSouth. Jan. 2014. Tr $17.95. ISBN 9780735841345.
COPY ISBN
K-Gr 2—This platitudinous picture book explores one young child's sense of self-esteem. As he prepares for bed, Matthew tells his mother that he wants to be called Jacob. "Like your cousin, who skateboards so well?" she asks. But she indulges him, and, in the morning, "Jacob" asks everyone he meets to use his new name. The trend continues as he encounters classmates with skills he covets; Lucas is always chosen first at volleyball and Evan has won a math prize. It is only when he receives an unexpected invitation to Anna's birthday celebration, addressed to Matthew, that he realizes that he is special, too. The bright cartoon illustrations support the narrative, but the banality of the plot makes this an additional purchase for collections that need material on self-esteem.—Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI
Matthew tries on different names--each one associated with another boy he admires in some way--until he decides that people like him just as he is. This is an affable story with childlike sentiments at its heart. Although the resolution is a bit tidy, both narration and the art, with its loose crayonlike outlines and thick blocks of color, are approachable.
Reviewed by Melissa Smith , Dec 01, 2013

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