WILD FOR WINNIE

A new student’s unusual behavior bewilders her classmates.

Winnie, a White redheaded girl, is “no ordinary kid,” opines the narrator, an unnamed and unidentified child in Winnie’s class. She howls “like a hyena” at circle time, kicks “like a kangaroo” at storytime, and chomps “like a piranha” on another student’s arm at lunch. Undaunted, her Black-presenting teacher suggests that “maybe Winnie sees and hears and feels the world differently than most of us” and proposes that everyone give Winnie’s “world” a whirl. In Løvlie’s cheery, colorful, pastel-hued double-page spreads, racially, physically, and ability diverse classmates joyfully join Winnie in activities that regulate her animal-themed antics. If she's “monkeying around” on the furniture, everyone joins her on the jungle gym at recess; when she’s acting “pretty squirrelly,” the other students go “nuts” with her on an indoor toy obstacle course; and so on. Unfortunately, more complex idioms such as “bull in a china shop” may fly over young readers’ heads without further explanation. Gradually, the narrator realizes that Winnie is ordinary after all: “Sometimes we all feel the world differently.” Fitzgerald’s message is well intentioned, but in this plotless story, Winnie feels more like an object lesson than a person, which may alienate readers who experience the world in similar ways. Although Winnie’s behavior is left unexplained, a closing author’s note to caregivers alludes to sensory processing disorder and presents additional activities targeting balance, body awareness, and more.(This book was reviewed digitally.)

Caregivers of “antsy” kids will glean some helpful tips, but young readers won’t go wild for this one.