Sullivan, Who Is Always Too Loud by Micol Ostow (review)

Sullivan is a very loud boy who can’t seem to quiet down, even when he wakes the family baby, makes the dog start barking, and disturbs Mr. Jenkins downstairs. He is sent to the Peace Place at school and tries to explain how his loudness works: “I have loudness. In my body. Bubbling up. Always. When Sullivan channels his loudness to fetch a classmate across the playground who can’t hear the teacher, he is praised by his teacher for using his volume for the forces of good. Biggs’ art emulates children’s doodles, with a robust naïveté to the draftsmanship: the characters have huge heads and wide mouths, and the grainy colored-pencil textures contrast with the white backgrounds. Sullivan’s face literally bubbles with his loudness until it explodes into a carbonated word that spans multiple pages, and negative space is well utilized to emphasize the sheer volume of Sullivan’s outbursts. Sullivan’s internal impulses are effectively conveyed, but there’s a focus on conformity rather than understanding that’s somewhat troubling in light of Sullivan’s apparent neurodiversity. However, viewers may find some comfort in the lesson that the behavior that elicits discomfort may in other situations save the day.