Don't Be Afraid, Tommy

Rating:
Summary: Klaus Baumgart's work is charming and illuminative
Review: Klaus Baumgart's "Don't Be Afraid, Tommy" focuses on a little boy named Tommy who seems to be afraid of, well, just about anything and everything. When his mother buys him a dog for his birthday, however, Tommy starts to come out of his shell. Roly (as he names the dog) becomes Tommy's surrogate and Tommy starts to comfort the dog for fears he himself previously required comfort for (bad syntax, but you get my point!). The effect is that Tommy becomes braver, more daring, and more relaxed in his environment.

Not until the last page do we see that Roly isn't really who we thought he was--but that's OK, because he's done his job so capably. Klaus Baumgart's illustrations are winningly soft and rounded, and the colors are lovely.

Rating:
Summary: Klaus Baumgart's work is charming and illuminative
Review: Klaus Baumgart's "Don't Be Afraid, Tommy" focuses on a little boy named Tommy who seems to be afraid of, well, just about anything and everything. When his mother buys him a dog for his birthday, however, Tommy starts to come out of his shell. Roly (as he names the dog) becomes Tommy's surrogate and Tommy starts to comfort the dog for fears he himself previously required comfort for (bad syntax, but you get my point!). The effect is that Tommy becomes braver, more daring, and more relaxed in his environment.

Not until the last page do we see that Roly isn't really who we thought he was--but that's OK, because he's done his job so capably. Klaus Baumgart's illustrations are winningly soft and rounded, and the colors are lovely.