Availability:
Library | Call Number | Format | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Canton Public Library | FIC JOHNSON E | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Searching... Marshfield Ventress Memorial Library | JOHNSON | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Quincy Thomas Crane Library | JOHNSON | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Searching... Sharon Public Library | PIC JOH | J BOOK | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
A young child learns that even superheroes hurt too in this heartrending story about loss and love, written by debut author Kevin Johnson and illustrated by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Kitt Thomas.
When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won't think about them. He doesn't want to.
He avoids the memories, until he no longer can.
He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness and joy that these memories bring up.
In Cape , Kevin Johnson has crafted an achingly beautiful and honest story about processing and redefining grief after the loss of a loved one. With evocative illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist Kitt Thomas ( Stacey's Extraordinary Words ), Cape is a powerful, unforgettable, and necessary story.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3--The story of an African American child and his experience with his father's death on the day of his funeral. The child moves among various stages of grief, first denial and ultimately ending with acceptance, by finding comfort with his aunt and remembering his father's love. The full color artwork equally imparts emotional gravitas through dramatic scenes; people are shown grieving in darkness in the foreground or the background, with the child alone, wearing a red cape, distant from others until he begins to remember joyful memories. This book will serve as a private book for grieving children or for a family needing help while facing a loss. The sentences are brief, aptly demonstrating the difficulty of communicating the process of grieving. VERDICT Purchase for help with social-emotional learning and to give greater guidance to the trauma of loss for young children; this need not be used solely in cases of extreme grief, but to encourage empathy, understanding, and articulation of loss.--Vi Ha
Publisher's Weekly Review
In a weighty picture book debut that considers a child's experience of grief, Johnson follows a Black child narrator who uses a red cape to navigate the emotions associated with losing a loved one. On the day of that loved one's funeral, observational text describes the burial ("We ride in a slow parade of cars/ and place you by the stones"), while Thomas (My Fade Is Fresh) uses sedate blues and grays to capture the gathered mourners' sadness and the child's feelings. The child wears a bright red cape that flows freely across every image, and when the adults reminisce "at a party where no one smiles," the child refuses to participate: "I. DON'T. WANT. TO." Memories, the narrator says, "make my swallow hurt," so "I block them with my cape. I fly them to outer space. I hide them in a sunken ship." After suppressing the recollections, though, they bubble back up: bright, colorful hues depict the protagonist embracing joyful memories shared with the late figure, and recognizing the cape as a means of connection with the dearly departed and the living. An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Kevin Lewis, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator's agent: Chad Beckerman, CAT Agency. (June)
Booklist Review
Through few words and forceful images, a child grapples with grief at the loss of a beloved adult in a powerful picture book that will sit alongside modern classics like The Rabbit Listened (2018), by Cori Doerrfeld, to help young readers process weighty emotions around bereavement. The child dons a red cape like armor--it was a gift, we learn, from his lost loved one. Through a funeral and repast, that cape, a pop of red amidst a sea of sadness, shields the boy from painful recollections. "Memories make my swallow hurt. I block them with my cape." Overwhelmed, the boy is unable to keep them at bay, and soon hazy golden orbs of indistinct moments transform into fully rendered memories of the boy with his loved one, whom the bereft child directly addresses. Allowing joy alongside his sadness brings the boy some comfort he then pays forward to a grieving auntie. Johnson's spare and accessible text delivers impactful page turns, and its self-protective terseness pairs seamlessly with Thomas' emotionally intense digital illustrations. Expressive facial features shine throughout, and the art effectively utilizes a palette shift from funereal cyans to warmer hues to underscore the positive impact of embracing grief. The relationship between the child and the deceased is unspecified, but an author's note calls the book "a love letter to my dad." A creative and compelling conversation starter for challenging times.