A Tale as Tall as Jacob: Misadventures With My Brother (2021)

by Samantha Edwards

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29	5	821,616	(3.5)	None
In this charming and poignant debut graphic novel, a young girl struggles to understand, accept, and support her remarkable little brother as he adapts to life with ADHD. Based on the author's own childhood and told through funny, beautifully illustrated vignettes, this story of two siblings celebrates empathy and embraces how difference makes every family unique. When Jacob is born, Samantha is excited to have a normal little brother to play with. But those expectations are quickly upended as he grows into a loud, chaotic, and seemingly unstoppable force. And even though he can be a handful, Jacob's extraordinary strength and curiosity have a way of landing him in some unexpected, hilarious, and even heartwarming situations. As Samantha struggles to get along with her little brother and survive his daily shenanigans, sweet moments of lighthearted fun surface to remind her-and the reader-that loving your family for who they are isn't so complicated after all.… (more)

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Showing 5 of 5

Samantha's little brother, Jacob is a larger than life baby -- very strong, interesting speech impediment, tornado-like destruction and attention span. Story is about living with a neurodivergent sibling and it's ups and downs. Funny, but fairly slow paced and episodic. I enjoyed it, especially Samantha's honesty about her frustrations and humanity -- sometimes we are mean back, even when we know better. Based on personal experience. (

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jennybeast | Apr 26, 2022 |

Recommended Ages: Gr. 3-7

Plot Summary: Samantha's little brother is not what she expected. He seems to ruin a lot of things for her, like ripping heads off her Barbies, hitting her in the head when he's mad, and take her mom's attention away from her. Will he ever become "normal?"

Setting: mostly their home, unnamed suburb

Characters:
Samantha - absolutely loves her brother but can also be super frustrated and need an escape from him
Jacob - speech impediment so his speech bubbles have translations underneath,

Recurring Themes: ADHD, siblings, family, support,

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: Horrible representation of ADHD.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: fast, graphic novel
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: (

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pigeonlover | Apr 9, 2022 |

Samantha's little brother Jacob is nicknamed Li'l Hercules, Baby Houdini and Tiny Tornado, all because of his lack of impulse control. He is eventually diagnosed with ADHD. At times he can be hard to live with and his behavior often infuriates Samantha, which leaves her feeling guilty afterward. The family's frustrations are palpable and at times are very funny. It's a revealing work of one famiily's experience with ADHD, infused with love and acceptance. (

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Salsabrarian | Mar 31, 2022 |

More and more, I'm enjoying these stories that shed light on growing up with or exposed to conditions where little information for genuine diagnosis was available. These stories are also a reflection into the lives of the authors. This was one of those stories. It centers on little Samantha growing up with her baby brother Jacob, who was diagnosed with ADHD. I enjoyed reading this. It offers a glimpse into one story of dealing with ADHD. I also loved that the authors note spoke to how this was their experience and it's not the same for everyone. (

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RayRosa | Feb 21, 2022 |

A fictional family story inspired by the author's real younger brother, who had a speech impediment and was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age. It's mostly a string of anecdotes from narrator Samantha Evans about the trouble and mischief her brother Jacob gets up to from infancy to elementary school. They are amusing tales that kept me skimming along quickly.

Toward the end, the parents choose to start the brother on a medication, and while the story touches on some of the ramifications involving side effects and personality change it mostly breezes past them for a feel-good ending.

It's a little slight overall but gives a glimpse of the good and bad parts of growing up with someone with a lot of energy and very little impulse control. (

)

villemezbrown | Jan 19, 2022 |

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▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Alabama Camellia Children's Choice Book Award (Nominee – 4-5 Fiction – 2023)

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee – Grades 3-6 – 2024)

Notable Lists

The Best Children's Books of the Year (2022)

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Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2021

People/Characters

Samantha Evans

Jacob Evans (brother of Samantha Evans)

Luke Evans (brother of Samantha Evans)

Mr. Evans (father of Samantha, Jacob, and Luke Evans)

Mrs. Evans (mother of Samantha, Jacob, and Luke Evans)

Important places

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

To Jacob, Luke, and Grace: Thanks for making me a big sister.

First words

This is Jacob. You're probably thinking, "Aw, what a cute little guy!"

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

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Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

In this charming and poignant debut graphic novel, a young girl struggles to understand, accept, and support her remarkable little brother as he adapts to life with ADHD. Based on the author's own childhood and told through funny, beautifully illustrated vignettes, this story of two siblings celebrates empathy and embraces how difference makes every family unique. When Jacob is born, Samantha is excited to have a normal little brother to play with. But those expectations are quickly upended as he grows into a loud, chaotic, and seemingly unstoppable force. And even though he can be a handful, Jacob's extraordinary strength and curiosity have a way of landing him in some unexpected, hilarious, and even heartwarming situations. As Samantha struggles to get along with her little brother and survive his daily shenanigans, sweet moments of lighthearted fun surface to remind her-and the reader-that loving your family for who they are isn't so complicated after all.

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