Being Edie Is Hard Today

by Ben Brashares, Elizabeth Bergeland (Illustrator)

Overview

This warm and tender story about being yourself—even when you're sad, anxious, or feeling lonely—reminds readers that human connection is essential, tears can heal, and a new day is always coming.

Being Edie is hard today. No one understands. Not her mother. Not her teachers, or the kids at school. If only if she could be an animal! Edie's imagination may be the perfect escape, but she can't run from her feelings forever if she's going to be comfortable in her own skin.

Debut author/illustrator team Ben Brashares and Elizabeth Bergeland offer an entirely original, wry, and poignant take on having a bad day—and trying again the next.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316521741
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Ben Brashares lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with his wife, three children, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and a lizard. He writes about his life as a stay-at-home dad in a blog called The SAHD Life. He holds an MFA in creative writing and has written for several magazines, including Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, and Entertainment Weekly.

Elizabeth Bergeland received a BFA in painting from the University of Colorado and works primarily with oils, watercolor, and pencil. Elizabeth grew up in Denver, Colorado, but now lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their three children in a quirky old row home.

Editorial Reviews

06/03/2019

In an empathic, artful story, a child wishes she could transform into something other than herself. Edie wears two spriglike leaves on the top of her head, almost like ears, and takes on the characteristics of various animals throughout the school day. When her teacher asks her to write on the board, Edie explains why she can’t: “I have polar bear hands.” When she eats sardines at recess, other kids tease her, calling her a “stinky squid”; in the following spread, Edie wistfully imagines herself as a pink squid, tentacles encircling her classmates’ ship (“Oh, to be a squid”). Bergeland illustrates in intricate pencil lines paired with bursts of pale color, providing the story a gently surreal, melancholy atmosphere. Readers will observe that other students have animal features— a tail here, a pair of antlers there. The addition of emoji-style faces hovering above the characters’ blank faces can feel duplicative but often gives voice to the blank-faced figures’ inner emotions—the strangeness of the day and the relatable feeling of wanting to disappear into a new identity more than speaks for itself. Ages 4–8. (May)

Publishers Weekly

* "Her mother's love that reminds her that being Edie is more than just all right."—Booklist, starred review

"Edie's plight is identifiable to anyone who's ever been bullied or who sometimes finds everyday life a bit of a struggle."
—Kirkus Reviews

"An interesting and subtle story about feelings and anxiety."—School Library Journal

"Empathetic."
—Publishers Weekly

"This book will serve as a reminder to adult readers harried by kid antics that the comparatively small problems of youth should still be treated with kindness and empathy."—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

05/10/2019

Gr 1–3-Edie, a girl with long hair and green leaves stuck in her tresses like antenna, just can't face going to school today. There's no specific reason given, she just feels overwhelmed and antisocial. Her day does not improve by pushing through her feelings, and she imagines herself as a series of different animals whose characteristics might help. After being teased about her snack choice (sardines), she imagines herself to be a cheetah, and gets her revenge on a bullying antelope. "During her rather long trip to the principal's office, Edie tried to explain the slow-moving characteristics of a sloth, but Ms. Meany wasn't listening." Back home, a good cry and a talk with her mother lets her recharge and feel ready to face the next day as herself. From the beginning, the illustrations indicate Edie's world of fantasy—-circles of delicate watercolor behind finely detailed black and white pencil vignettes create literal bubbles for Edie to exist in and give the barest hint of her actual environment. For the first two thirds of the story, all the people are shown in profile with blank faces. Instead of facial features, one or more emoji float above their heads indicating their inner state of mind and adding a sophisticated layer of visual literacy to the presentation. VERDICT An interesting and subtle story about feelings and anxiety for elementary students.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

2019-02-06

Some days are hard, so Edie borrows some animal traits to get through.

Edie doesn't want to go to school, and as soon as she boards the bus, the reason why becomes clear: Edie is bullied and feels lonely. She copes by imagining herself as other animals, her wistful "Oh, to be a squid" summing up her alienation. She is depicted with leaf antennae all day long while other classmates sport different animal features. She tries to take action as a cheetah against an antelope-horned classmate, but her efforts send her to the principal's office. At home, Edie finally admits the truth to her mom, releasing her emotions. The text shows one explicit instance of name-calling, and readers can intuit Edie's loneliness at school from her many solo activities and disengagement. Bergeland's 1970s-style pencil-and-watercolor pictures in a mostly pastel color palette spectacularly capture wishful quietness with lots of negative space, expanding to rich, natural spreads at emotional high points. The characters all have skin the white of the blank paper, but differences in hair texture suggest racial differences (Edie's hair is long and straight). Often, emojis hover above the characters, providing some evidence of personality beyond body language. At the climax, faceless characters receive facial features for a deeper view of their inner worlds.

Edie's plight is identifiable to anyone who's ever been bullied or who sometimes finds everyday life a bit of a struggle. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews