Jenny Mei Is Sad by Tracy Subisak (review)

The narrator loves her friend, Jenny Mei, who "likes to make everyone laugh" and who sparkles with generosity. There's a cloud in Jenny Mei's life, though, that means she leaves her house stoop-shouldered in silent distress for the morning walk to school, and she's sometimes driven to act out in class, leaving her to stay afterwards to talk to the teacher while the narrator waits patiently outside the classroom. On the way home, in the safe harbor of friendship, Jenny Mei cries a little and the narrator puts an arm around her friend, making sure Jenny Mei knows "I'm here for fun and not-fun and everything in between." While there's sometimes an adult edge to the dialogue and an adult understanding of the likely connection between Jenny's classroom misbehavior and the family-based assignment on the chalkboard, it's clear the narrator is clued in to some existing Trouble at Home in Jenny Mei's household, and her love for her struggling friend is admirable and supportive. Mixed-media art adds texture to watercolor with pastels and colored pencil, giving more impact to the light-handed drafting; the narrator sports perky puffs and a concerned expression that gives way to happiness when she and Jenny joyfully goof around together. Aside from Willems' My Friend Is Sad (BCCB 7/07), most books focus on the kid going through something rather than the boon companion, and this will provide an opening for children and their adults to discuss ways to support friends in sad times.