Keep your head up

A Black boy attempts to stay positive on a crummy Monday in this well-paced picture book. Employing an accessible first-person narration ("I walk to school with my head up/ even though I feel a little scrunchy./ It can still be a good day./ Any day can be good if you try"), King Neil follows D. through his bad day: after waking up late, he discovers his sister has used his sparkly toothpaste for slime ("Toothpaste doesn't even go in slime"), he can't play kickball because he doesn't have his gym uniform, and various mishaps and disappointments follow. D. attempts to work through his "scrunchy" feelings throughout the day, but eventually, mounting distress leads to a meltdown ("A meltdown is when you want to keep your head up, but it won't stay"). A meeting with Miss King, the school's kind Black principal, helps reframe the day. Palmer's expressive acrylic paintings offer lush, vibrantly multilayered spreads that center D.'s emotions, showing a darkening storm cloud overhead. As the child's principal and parents show him grace in a realistically nuanced ending, the resonant narrative gently encourages patience and compassion for readers doing their best to keep their own heads up. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)

D wakes up late, no one greets him, and his sister has used his favorite toothpaste to make slime. Will D's day get any better? D, a young Black boy, tries to make the best of a bad day. Despite the less-than-stellar start to his morning, he manages to keep his head up and try to turn it around. However, once at school, he learns that he's missing his gym uniform and won't be able to participate. As hard as he tries to fight it, his "bad day face slips out." As the day progresses, D's "bad day face" becomes his "scrunchy face," and eventually he has a full-on "meltdown"--which lands him in the principal's office. There, D talks with Miss King, who likens him to a fragile vinyl LP, an analogy that is both fitting and affirming. D's parents come to pick him up from school, which doesn't help his mood, but he makes the decision to keep his head up anyway. D's mental state is represented in Palmer's painterly illustrations by a cloud that floats above his head. As the day wears on, the cloud grows bigger and darker, the meltdown page rendered as nothing but vigorous black brush strokes. Readers will recognize their own feelings of anger, disappointment, and loss of control through Neil's empathetic text, laden with sensory metaphors. D's school is majority Black, and his teachers and Miss King are Black as well. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An excellent book for teaching children the importance of showing themselves grace and kindness. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.