Lynn Plourde

A boy born without hands debates getting prostheses.

Adopted from “an orphanage on the other side of the world” eight years ago, 11-year-old Benji Fadeyushka Ames-Cyr dreams of saving the day like the cartoon superheroes Dad and Papa introduced him to when they brought him to the United States. There’s just one problem: Benji hates being the center of attention, and his limb difference invites plenty of scrutiny. But after Benji meets Staff Sergeant Dirk Snyder, a self-assured quadruple show more amputee who uses a bionic prosthetic arm, he realizes that getting hands of his own could make him a superhero: the Bionic Boy. Still, he wonders if he made the right decision, especially after an upsetting incident involving the family cat. Can Benji still be a hero? While his conflicting feelings about using prostheses realistically highlight issues such as identity and self-confidence, family and friendship are the story’s core. The loving support of Benji’s dads, his best friend, Sam, and his 7-year-old sister, Becka, who has Down syndrome, radiates throughout, and even a surly new neighbor, Izzy, has a soft side. Though some readers may find Becka’s cheery, earnest antics adorable, others may feel they toe the trope of people with Down syndrome being perpetually happy or angelic. Most characters, including Benji and his family, read white; Sam is Indian.

A feel-good story of family, friends, and self-confidence. (acknowledgments/author's note) (Fiction. 7-9)

-Kirkus Review show less

Baby Black Bear is determined not to hibernate in this entertaining tale from author Lynn Plourde and illustrator Teri Weidner, deciding that he will experience winter with his friends Owl, Moose and Hare instead. Indulgent Papa Bear, wise to ways of young cubs, follows from a distance as his son attempts to stay awake, always there to provide food and shelter, but removed enough from the situation to give Baby Bear a sense of exploring on his own. Eventually Baby Bear realizes that show more snuggling with his warm parents is the best way to pass the winter, and his friends help him get back to his den...

Although anthropomorphized quite a bit, Baby Bear and his family and friends are also naturalistic enough that younger children will get a sense from the story how each animal lives during the winter, whether it be the bears hibernating or the moose subsisting on twigs and bark. This makes Baby Bear's Not Hibernating a useful story, both as a bedtime selection - don't many children resist going to sleep? - and as an introduction to the winter habits of a number of species. The author's informative afterword provides more details about black bears. The artwork is quite appealing, capturing Baby Bear's adorable antics, as well as the beauty of the winter world around him. Recommended to anyone looking for new children's stories about hibernation, bedtime resistance, winter-time, and/or bears. show less

Bella loves her fall coat, handmade for her by her grandmother, and her companion through all sorts of fun autumn activities, from jumping in leaf piles to munching on apples. Every time Grams begins to suggest that something must be done about the coat, which is threadbare and far too small, Bella is off life the wind, determined not to hear. Fortunately, Grams has an idea, and while Bella is sleeping, she makes her a new coat: a coat for winter, ideal for the first snowfall of the season. show more As for the fall coat? Once Bella has her new coat, she knows what to do with this treasured possession...

Pairing a sweetly engaging story of a little girl's loving relationship with her grandmother from author Lynn Plourde with gorgeously colorful autumn illustrations from artist Susan Gal, Bella's Fall Coat makes for a very appealing seasonal picture-book selection. I always enjoy tales about the changing of the seasons, and this was no exception. The parallels between the changes Bella is experiencing - growing up, and out of favorite articles of clothing - and the changes in the natural world, are worked naturally into the narrative, without undue fanfare. The deeper meaning is there, without intruding on the story. The illustrations capture all of the beauty of the season - which is my favorite - as well as Bella's energy. Gal appears to have a talent for fall picture-books, to judge by this selection, as well as Anne Sibley O'Brien's Hocus Pocus, It's Fall!, which she also illustrated. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories about the fall season, as well as those addressing the changes that growing up bring to children, or the relationship between children and their grandparents. show less

Mother Earth tries to put her wild child Autumn to bed in this lovely seasonal picture-book, but that willful offspring isn't ready to subside into peaceful slumber at first. First Autumn needs a song, then a snack, then PJs (pajamas), and finally a kiss. Mother Earth provides all of these - the snap of leaves and the patter of chipmunks for a song, the pleasure of pumpkins and the crunch of chestnuts for a snack, the blazing beauty of the fall foliage for PJs, and a freezing, blustery show more embrace for a kiss - and finally this wild child is ready to settle down. Just in time for one of Mother Earth's other children, Winter, to grow restless and awaken...

A wonderfully appealing and alliterative text from author Lynn Plourde is paired with gorgeously colorful artwork from illustrator Greg Couch in Wild Child, the first of four seasonal picture-books exploring Mother Earth and Father Time and their four children. I enjoyed this one quite a bit, appreciating both the text and the story idea, and loving the visuals. Autumn is my favorite season, and Plourde and Couch adeptly capture its restless energy and blazing beauty. There is sometimes something melancholy about the fall of the year, but here there is a feeling of cycles that is reassuring. Highly recommended to any picture-book reader seeking autumn stories. For my part, I intend to also track down Winter Waits, Spring's Sprung and Summer's Vacation, to see if they are just as magical as this one. show less