Cranky Right Now

May 1, 2021
Somebody's cranky. Like all other characters in this picture book, the first-person narrator isn't named. She presents as a Black girl with light-brown skin, her hair styled in Afro puffs. The text details that she's cranky for many reasons, chief among them her mischievous little brother, who is also Black and has darker brown skin and a cloudlike Afro. Illustrator Hatam adroitly uses facial expressions to depict the protagonist's displeasure with her brother and her angst at perceived injustices meted out by her parents (mom shares the brother's coloring while the father shares the main character's). Such details as the narrator's red, scowling "cranky boots" and interactions with the family's pets add further interest. The text is masterful in its misdirection and displacement of responsibility: "It's not my fault that certain people / have no patience at all. / And the cat ate the cookies. / Nothing is fair. / And nobody cares." While the scenarios feel quite realistic, about three-quarters of the way through, the text begins to use end rhymes: "Then, chances are, after a good, tired flop, / The cranky in me will decide to stop." This transition both feels disjointed from the beginning part of the book and somehow has the effect of leaching some of the emotional power from the text--and it may make some readers feel confused if not cranky. True to life, if lacking cohesion. (Picture book. 3-6)

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April 30, 2021
Grades K-2 A young girl is having a terrible morning: she resents being blamed for others' mistakes and messes, feels ""hangry,"" rages against perceived injustices, and is particularly annoyed by her pesky younger brother. Still, she owns her emotions, donning ""cranky"" boots and a crown, belting out loud tunes, and running wildly. Finally, she collapses in exhaustion and, after a nap, transforms back into an agreeable child. Berry perfectly captures the feel of a bad day using situations that will ring true. For example, Dad surreptitiously snarfs a chocolate bar while insisting his daughter consume only a healthy cheese stick. Hatam's brightly colored artwork depicts this family as Black. Her precise settings add energy to the text, especially the bright red boots, Vikingesque hat, and horns everyone else sprouts during cranky episodes. The girl's many emotions are conveyed through her expressive eyes as well as small details, such as a stuffie with a ripped-off leg. Although the story's rhyme scheme is inconsistent, this child's ability to work herself out of a funk is truly impressive.

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June 7, 2021
This companion to the collaborators’ Happy Right Now marks the return of their narrator, a child with brown skin. An opening scene finds the child beneath a blanket fort, warning a guardian with an Afro: “I’m cranky right now, and I have my reasons.” A comprehensive enumeration of wrongs and slights follows, from younger brother annoyances to parental hypocrisy when it comes to snacking; many of the scenes are anchored by the presence of a calm, slightly bemused guardian. Readers will savor the child’s assertion: “You’d be cranky, too, if you lived with this much injustice.” Hatam boosts the gentle comedy with mixed media, cartoon-style illustrations. The book’s ultimate message—moods pass—is familiar, but there’s an amusing twist when, after a restorative nap, Berry’s charming text breaks into rhyme: “If you’re cranky, I get it,” the child magnanimously tells her once-scorned little brother. “Use my blankie, don’t sweat it.” Ages 4–8.