Miles is the boss of his body

PreS-Gr 2-Using a style reminiscent of Mo Willems's "Knuffle Bunny" books (Hyperion), this empowering title, based on a screenplay, uses cartoon illustrations placed on sepia photographs in an eye-catching display. Miles is excited about celebrating his sixth birthday with his family, but as the day progresses, he gets more and more agitated by the adults who pinch his cheeks, tightly hug him, pat his head, tickle him, and lift him into the air. After putting up with as much as he can take, he angrily explains that he's tired of all the unwanted touching. "I'm six years old and I'm the BOSS OF MY BODY!" Miles yells, before shutting himself in his bedroom. Though he's concerned that he went too far, his relatives praise him for standing up for himself and agree that he is right. This book builds confidence, conveys an important lesson for children and adults, and will be useful in initiating an important discussion.-Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Miles may be 6, but he's in charge of his body anyway, isn't he? In this montage of simple, cartoony characters set against photographic backgrounds, readers are introduced to Miles, who is about to celebrate his sixth birthday with his family and desperately looks forward to his favorite: "double-meaty-pepperoni-sausage-pineapple-hold-the-onions-extra-cheesy birthday pizza!" But before the pizza man arrives, Grandpa has to give Miles' cheek a pinch, and brother Scotty bestows a serious noogie, and Aunt Millie sends a suffocating hug (via Miles' mom), and Dad lifts him off the floor (" Dad, please put me down!"). Then a guy in a chicken suit arrives to tickle Miles. Miles blows his stack before retreating to his room for some time alone. Mom knocks. "Am I in trouble?" asks Miles. "No," says his mom. "We're here to tell you how proud we are of you." Dad pipes in: "No one should ever touch you in ways you don't want to be touched." Though the story is ham-fisted to the point of being a pork shoulder with the bone in, and though neither the artwork nor the text will last, the point probably will sink in. As the endnote states, "Roughly 90% of the harm done to children is not by a stranger, but by someone they know." Even if the worst thing this book prevents is an unwanted noogie, it is still doing a service. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.