My Fall 2010 Books: BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES)

Herewith beginning a short series of posts introducing my books on the AALB Fall 2010 list:


BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) by Lisa Yee, illustrated by Dan Santat. Coedited by Arthur and moi. In his first outing, 2009's Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally), Bobby Ellis-Chan accidentally precipitated an all-out boys vs. girls war. His second outing continues to explore the question of what makes a real man (in fourth grade, anyway), as Bobby has to face his fears on various fronts: against the evil six-toed cat down the street, in the class production of "Annie," with his recurring asthma, and after he hears his former pro-linebacker father say, "He's not like me." It is once again laugh-out-loud funny and lump-in-throat touching in both its text and art, with a great new cover look by the ever-versatile Dan Santat. Take it away, School Library Journal: "Readers will devour the fast-paced writing, spot-on dialogue, and heartfelt lessons embedded in the text and empathize with the sometimes-brave Bobby, his worries about his place in his family and at school, and his struggles and successes."

My favorite lines:

• Jillian Zarr threw her head back when she laughed. She was the only person Bobby knew who did this, other than the evil genius from that movie Kid Kops.
• One could never tell what the scary cat was thinking. That was the problem with sinister beings. They hardly ever told you what they were up to.
• Bobby just shrugged. “Things,” he said.

More links:

• Lisa and Dan on how the Bobby books came about
  
• "Too much fun" -- a review from the Smithsonian's Bookdragon blog
  
• Arthur discusses the book with Lisa in the Librarian Webcast preview (video)
• Dan Santat confesses his crush on Bobby's mom.
  
• The AALB website page, with full reviews and buying info