95. Henry at Home

Henry at Home. Megan Maynor. Illustrated by Alea Marley. 2021. [June] 40 pages. [Source: Library]

 First sentence: As long as there had been Henry and Liza, they were together. Liza and Henry. Henry and Liza.

Premise/plot: Liza is starting school. Her younger brother, Henry, is not. He's still too young for school. How will he fill his days without his best friend and playmate? What about all the many special things they do together? Can he do those things by himself...and still have fun?

This picture book explores the feelings a younger sibling *may* have when an older sibling heads off to school for the first time.

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. I thought the illustrations were super-sweet. I expected Henry to feel more sad and lonely than jealous and angry. But I think his feelings are legitimate. I think there are many possible reactions for this oh-so-common situation.

I did like seeing Henry and Eliza play together in the pages of this one. I liked seeing Henry play on his own too. It's a very important life skill--how to entertain yourself. It goes underappreciated or underrepresented in books, I think. 

© 2021 Becky Laney of Young Readers