Cape

by Kevin Johnson, Kitt Thomas (Illustrator)

Overview

A young child learns that even superheroes hurt too in this heartrending story about loss and love, written by debut author Kevin Johnson and illustrated by #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Kitt Thomas.

When a child loses the person in his life that he loves more than anything, he uses his cape as protection from his grief. On the day of the funeral, he uses it to block out the pictures and stories people share, refusing to acknowledge the memories that keep bubbling up. He won't think about them. He doesn't want to.

He avoids the memories, until he no longer can.

He remembers then. Their laugh, their smile, the moment they gave him the cape. The cape transforms, becoming a source of comfort and strength as the child navigates the sadness and joy that these memories bring up.

In Cape, Kevin Johnson has crafted an achingly beautiful and honest story about processing and redefining grief after the loss of a loved one. With evocative illustrations by New York Times bestselling artist Kitt Thomas (Stacey’s Extraordinary Words), Cape is a powerful, unforgettable, and necessary story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250840509
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	06/20/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	296,249
Product dimensions:	10.35(w) x 10.25(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD350L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kevin Johnson is the author of Cape. The adopted son of two loving educators, Kevin fell in love with storytelling at an early age. He studied screenwriting and filmmaking, receiving a Bachelors of Arts from Temple University. Kevin is a lover of movies, comic books, music, and gadgets. While his birthplace, Philadelphia, will always remain home, Kevin loves to travel and find inspiration for his next tale.

Kitt Thomas, also known as Katelan, is a first-generation Saint Lucian American author-illustrator and graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design. Kitt's mission is to celebrate Black culture with their drawings and encourage inclusion. They have worked with companies such as Netflix, Hasbro, and Cartoon Network. Their first picture book, Stacey's Extraordinary Words, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and a nominee for the NAACP Image Award.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2023

In a weighty picture book debut that considers a child’s experience of grief, Johnson follows a Black child narrator who uses a red cape to navigate the emotions associated with losing a loved one. On the day of that loved one’s funeral, observational text describes the burial (“We ride in a slow parade of cars/ and place you by the stones”), while Thomas (My Fade Is Fresh) uses sedate blues and grays to capture the gathered mourners’ sadness and the child’s feelings. The child wears a bright red cape that flows freely across every image, and when the adults reminisce “at a party where no one smiles,” the child refuses to participate: “I. DON’T. WANT. TO.” Memories, the narrator says, “make my swallow hurt,” so “I block them with my cape. I fly them to outer space. I hide them in a sunken ship.” After suppressing the recollections, though, they bubble back up: bright, colorful hues depict the protagonist embracing joyful memories shared with the late figure, and recognizing the cape as a means of connection with the dearly departed and the living. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Kevin Lewis, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Chad Beckerman, CAT Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A 2024 ALA Notable Children's Book

A NYPL 2023 Best Book for Kids - Top Ten Book

A Kids' Indie Next Pick

Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2023

A BCCB Blue Ribbon List Selection

A 2024 Notable Social Studies Trade Book

2024 Bank Street Best Book of the Year

★ "A resonant child’s-eye view of grief—and hope." —Kirkus, starred review

★ "Our young Black protagonist knows the day ahead will be hard, so after getting dressed in his new suit, he makes sure to also put on his bright red cape. He’s hoping the cape will hold off any unwelcome memories... Of course, even his best efforts can’t stop the grief, and as he finally lets himself remember his father, he also remembers the love they shared." —Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, starred review

★ "This book is a very welcome and ­approachable way to discuss grief and death with young readers." —Horn Book, starred review

"Purchase for help with social-emotional learning and to give greater guidance to the trauma of loss for young children; this need not be used solely in cases of extreme grief, but to encourage empathy, understanding, and articulation of loss." —School Library Journal

"Cape takes us there and brings us back, leaving us better and more hopeful than we were before. A necessary read for ever-present grief." —Antwan Eady, author of Nigel and the Moon

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

K-Gr 3—The story of an African American child and his experience with his father's death on the day of his funeral. The child moves among various stages of grief, first denial and ultimately ending with acceptance, by finding comfort with his aunt and remembering his father's love. The full color artwork equally imparts emotional gravitas through dramatic scenes; people are shown grieving in darkness in the foreground or the background, with the child alone, wearing a red cape, distant from others until he begins to remember joyful memories. This book will serve as a private book for grieving children or for a family needing help while facing a loss. The sentences are brief, aptly demonstrating the difficulty of communicating the process of grieving. VERDICT Purchase for help with social-emotional learning and to give greater guidance to the trauma of loss for young children; this need not be used solely in cases of extreme grief, but to encourage empathy, understanding, and articulation of loss.—Vi Ha

School Library Journal

★ 2023-03-29
A child grapples with loss.

A Black boy sits on his bedroom floor, holding his knees, looking bereft. Along with “a new haircut and suit for today,” he has a red cape hanging from his chest of drawers—an item of clothing also worn by the brown-skinned action figure next to him. As he walks downstairs, red cape billowing out behind him, he comments, “Got my cape…in case I remember.” After his auntie hugs him, a grayed-out parade of cars drives to the graveyard, where “We…place you by the stones.” During the funeral and the repast at the house, the mourners’ faces are indistinct or seen from behind, awash in grays or blues, representing the boy’s refusal to engage with them emotionally. Dynamic hues fill the pages as he imagines himself fighting off memories with his cape, soaring through space and diving deep under the water—before suddenly finding himself surrounded by joyful memories of a loving Black man, presumably his dad (an author’s note states that the story is rooted in Johnson’s childhood experience of losing his father). Thomas’ striking illustrations have a rounded softness, tempering the intensity though never sugarcoating it—this child’s rage, sadness, loneliness, and love are palpable. Johnson’s terse prose brims with emotion as the boy, amid his own mourning, covers his grieving auntie with the cape and promises, “I’ll never forget.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A resonant child’s-eye view of grief—and hope. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews