The Breaking News

by Sarah Lynne Reul

Overview

When devastating news rattles a young girl's community, her normally attentive parents and neighbors are suddenly exhausted and distracted. At school, her teacher tells the class to look for the helpers—the good people working to make things better in big and small ways. She wants more than anything to help in a BIG way, but maybe she can start with one small act of kindness instead . . . and then another, and another.Small things can compound, after all, to make a world of difference.

The Breaking News by Sarah Lynne Reul touches on themes of community, resilience, and optimism with an authenticity that will resonate with readers young and old.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250153562
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	04/10/2018
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	97,455
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sarah Lynne Reul is an illustrator and award-winning 2D animator who likes science, bright colors and figuring out how things work. After a number of years in science museum education and non-profit administration, she was lured back to school by the magic of making drawings come to life. She earned an MFA in 2D Animation from the Academy of Art University and her thesis film, “The Search for the Monster of Lake Quannapowitt”, won Best Animation for Kids at Animation Block Party 2015. Sarah Lynne strives to pack all the dynamic energy of animation into each of her illustrations. Originally from Brooklyn, she now lives just outside of Boston with her husband and two little girls.

Sarah is the author and illustrator of The Breaking News.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/07/2018
Something bad—really bad—has happened in the world. “Mom is glued to the television. Dad can’t stop checking his phone,” says the narrator, a girl with a little brother. The next day, the school bus feels dark and cavernous, with kids anxiously peering over their seats at their friends. In her picture-book debut, Ruel doesn’t specify the nature of the event, but her astutely composed, wonderfully sympathetic cartoon-style drawings capture how kids are impacted by worried and distracted adults, and how it feels to be small in the face of something too big to grasp. Ruel also understands that many readers will yearn to feel some sense of agency; the narrator decides she wants to “help in a BIG way” and tries to cheer up the worried, sleepless adults around her. She soon realizes, however, that while people can’t turn off their feelings, small acts of kindness—reading to her brother, cheering up the dog, brightening up her block with plants—can make a difference. “Small things don’t solve everything,” she says. “The bad news is still there. But then again... so are we.” Featuring a multi-ethnic neighborhood of individuals connected—for better or worse— through their shared disquiet, this is a wise and timely book. Ages 4–8. Agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Picture Books of 2018 selection

"Featuring a multi-ethnic neighborhood of individuals connected—for better or worse—through their shared disquiet, this is a wise and timely book." - Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

A “timely text” with “emotions...sensitively portrayed throughout... Affirming the resilience that can result when small acts are focused on community.” - The New York Times

"This take on post-tragedy response delicately blends respect for sadness and the magnitude of tragedy with an actionable focus on the value of “one small thing” as a response." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The ambiguous nature of the circumstances makes [The Breaking News] appropriate for many situations children face in today’s never-ending news cycle. An absolute-must for...libraries." - School Library Journal

From the Publisher

04/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—While the bad news that begins this story remains a mystery, the anxiety that this family of color faces is clear. The parents are distraught and following something closely on their devices while the children pick up on their anxiety. They try to be well behaved but are disappointed when their actions go unnoticed. A big effort seems overwhelming, so the brother/sister duo try to change things in small ways, like watering a drooping plant. When it perks back up, the parents notice and help them build on that small thing by making tiny potted plants together as a family to hand out to their neighborhood. With simple language that names emotions, the narrative identifies the helplessness children feel when something happens that they are too small to understand or change. VERDICT The ambiguous nature of the circumstances makes this title appropriate for many situations children face in today's never-ending news cycle. An absolute-must for most libraries.—Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH

School Library Journal

2018-02-13
With bad news in the air, Mom is glued to the television, and Dad is constantly checking his phone; it is up to the children to remind them they are still there.As the book starts, a family of four—mother, father, and two children—is engaged with planting seeds at the kitchen table. They are all depicted with brown skin and enormous, outsized eyes. When bad news breaks on the TV, everyone's life is turned upside down. The grown-ups all around are clearly overwhelmed, and all the children in school reflect this in their sad and scared faces. In this unsettling atmosphere the tables are turned, and it is up to the young protagonist to help the grown-ups. After some clowning around, a promise of a force field to protect them, and doing the dishes fail to bring the desired effect, a series of smaller good deeds does the trick. What stands out in the mixed-media illustrations are the enormous eyes, which at times give the characters an outright scary look. It is hard to decide whether this story is intended for adults, reminding them of their responsibility toward children in times of trouble; or for children, empowering them to take action when the adults in their lives fail them.This disquieting story may be best used as a discussion starter. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews