Katie Honors is a really nice kid, but in this realistic story about a young girl and her little brother Chuck, who seems to ruin everything he (literally) touches, Sometimes I Grumblesquinch (or more actually Katie does) it is hard to stay nice. Trying to stay the “good girl” after a not so fun morning, she pushes her feelings down (grumblesquinch) every time something happens that upsets her (Chuck takes her seat at the table, he gets food over her favorite shirt, he “punches” her food) until the anger/emotions finally pop out of her and more than a grumble erupts from Katie. What will her folks do? Will they still think her perfect? Will they love her as she is not perfect now?
Fun illustrations Hyewon Yum that have a surprise if you look out for it, that helps show and tell how our heroine feels. These illustrations are simple but have fun details. The surprise had to be pointed out to me in the authors afterwards, but once I saw it, I had to go back and find it. And it is the perfect metaphor/example of what is happening to Katie and how she is not really dealing with her emotions. The colors were bold, and not necessarily overly “too much” and are geared towards a younger crowd. Of course, they are eye catching.
The story is soft, sweet, and modern. There is not a lot of action, but what is there sets the story up well and the execution is what one would expect from a story such as this. Siblings of all genders will relate to the “baby sibling blues” in Rachel Vail’s book.
