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Ostow, Micol

Sullivan, Who Is Always Too Loud

40 pp. | Roaring Brook | November, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-1-250-30772-9 $18.99
(2) PS Illustrated by Brian Biggs. The title page shows a little boy, with a huge smile, at an apartment window. With a page-turn we're inside his room and introduced: "This is Sullivan, who is always too loud. Not just sometimes. Not just often. Always." The illustration shows an enthusiastically waving child alongside a huge, colorful, friendly "HELLO!" There's not a trace of malice in Sullivan: he doesn't mean to wake his baby sister, annoy the downstairs neighbor, or prevent his mother from "hearing [her]self think." (And whose bright idea at school was it to give this kid percussion instruments?) Nevertheless, as we learn from the surprisingly self-aware Sullivan: "I have loudness. In my body. Bubbling up. Always." What's more, when he tries to stuff it down, it just comes out eventually, and louder than ever. Mama suggests the strategy of counting to three, with some success (the refrain: "It's a start"). And, satisfyingly, before story's end, Sullivan is able to put his big voice to good, helpful, and appropriate use. Biggs's (the Tinyville Town series; recently The Space Walk, rev. 1/20) trademark illustrations, too, are here put to good use, with his approachably bubbly shapes and speech balloons; his thoughtful use of color and judicious use of white space. Many people know--or were or are--a kid like Sullivan, and this nonjudgmental story about an exuberant, volume-­challenged child could make an entertaining read-aLOUD.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

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