SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: BRAVE ENOUGH
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://robjustus.com/
CITY: Ottawa
STATE:
COUNTRY: Canada
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 361
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Children: yes.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and illustrator. Previously worked as a market researcher for ten years.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Rob Justus is a children’s book writer and illustrator. After working for a decade as a market researcher, he turned his attention to storytelling and more creative pursuits. Justus draws from nature and his observations of the world around him to create curious scenes to attract his readers. Justus has published several picture books and works for younger readers, including Kid Coach, Death & Sparkles, and Brave Enough.
In an interview in Writers’ Rumpus, Justus spoke with Hilary Margitich about how he came to be a writer and illustrator. Justus recalled: “Growing up, I drew all the time. I wanted to be a comic book artist. That was kind of my thing and my dream. But at the time, I was discouraged from pursuing art because it wasn’t considered a safe, secure career path. It’s really competitive.” Justus explained that he got a job as a market researcher but was eventually laid off. Justus continued: “I started drawing again for the first time in about fifteen years. I started drawing cute little things for my niece and nephews, and got to see them have a fun reaction. Someone asked me if I had ever tried doing picture books, so I decided to try it. I re-taught myself how to draw, with color theory and composition. I have no formal art training whatsoever…zero. I read books on writing, watched YouTube videos on drawing, and just started playing around.”
Just remarked in the same Writers’ Rumpus interview that he brough some of his work to an Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference to show to several art directors. He decided that this would be his make-it-or-break-it moment. Justus admitted that those art directors “just so happened to really like what I had, and that was when I decided I was going to go head-first and see where this took me. For the last six or seven years, I’ve been on a life-changing journey.”
In the picture book, Kid Coach, a young kid known as Kid Coach attempts to get his couch-potato father in shape to compete at Wrestle-Rumble Mania Kingdom Tournament of Champions. Dad does well in the early rounds of the competition, making use of his effective Tater Tangler move. However, Kid Coach is embarrassed that he did not teach his father how to be a good sport. Dad tries to get them gifts to make amends for his behavior. However, it isn’t until he offers an apology that he is forgiven. Writing in School Library Journal, Chance Lee Joyner called it “a playful title to remind readers that important lessons about sportsmanship can be learned at any age.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor lamented that “the book lacks diversity.” The same critic remarked that Kid Coach is “a lively story with a positive message–but not a true champion of inclusion.”
With Death & Sparkles, the titular characters are an odd couple. Sparkles is the last living unicorn in the world. While promoting a sponsored product, Sparkles suffers a fatal flaw and meets Death, who has the bureaucratic powers of killing with a single touch. Three sentient extraterrestrial lizards replace Sparkles at the manager’s request. However, they believe in conservation and taking responsibility for planetary care, causing a rift between them and their new sponsorship duties. And Sparkles may not be dead after all. Reviewing the book in School Library Journal, Thomas Maluck opined that “introverts and extroverts alike will unite watching true friendship blossom between Death and a magic unicorn.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor suggested that “readers will be enchanted and will ponder for some time the ideas presented here.” The same reviewer labeled the book both “powerful and fun.”
In the picture book, Brave Enough, Little Brother is afraid of monsters. He hides from them but is still curious enough to read about them. Little Brother’s sibling chides the boy for being afraid of monsters and brings him to an abandoned building to go hunting for them. The sibling claims that monsters do not exist. The two fall through a hole and come face to face with a large pink monster. Luckily, Little Brother knows exactly what to do because of having read up about monsters and prepared himself. A Kirkus Reviews contributor found it to be “a charming tribute to sibling dynamics that will amuse anyone who’s been underestimated–but proven a hero in the end.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 1, 2019, Ronny Khuri, review of Kid Coach, p. 102.
Kirkus Reviews November 15, 2019, review of Kid Coach; July 15, 2021, review of Death & Sparkles; December 1, 2021, review of Brave Enough.
School Library Journal, January 1, 2020, Chance Lee Joyner, review of Kid Coach, p. 58; December 1, 2021, Thomas Maluck, review of Death & Sparkles, p. 92.
ONLINE
Critter Lit, https://www.critterlit.com/ (February 6, 2020), Lindsay Ward, author interview.
Rob Justus website, https://robjustus.com/ (May 1, 2022).
Writers’ Rumpus, https://writersrumpus.com/ (September 3, 2021), Hilary Margitich, author interview.
Who is this guy?
Author. Illustrator. Nice guy.
Rob Justus loves to create stories and imagery that capture the wonder, excitement and mysteries of childhood and the joy of exploration.
After spending nearly a decade as an award-winning market researcher, Rob decided to pursue a career that better suited his passion for creativity and storytelling.
Rob draws inspiration from nature, human observation, dreaming of the future and constantly wondering “what if?” His intent is to draw the audience in through curious scenes and composition leaving them wanting to know more.
Rob resides in the capital of the Great White North (which is not Toronto), where he greatly misses his recently passed bernese, Cooper.
Friendly, approachable, and professional, Rob is always open to new opportunities and challenges.
Formerly an award-winning market researcher, Rob Justus is a self-taught debut author/illustrator who raised himself on a classic diet of comics and Saturday morning cartoons. His debut picture book,Kid Coach, was published in 2020; this is his first graphic novel. Rob lives and doodles near Ottawa, Canada.
INTERVIEW WITH ROB JUSTUS, AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR OF DEATH & SPARKLES
September 3, 2021 Hilary Margitich Book Reviews - Middle Grade, Illustrating, Inspiration, Interviews, Interviews - Authors & Illustrators, Writing - Middle Grade & Young Adult, Writing - Tools, Tips & Resources 13 comments
Odd couple characters abound in children’s books. If you think for a moment, I bet you can rattle off a bunch. There’s Frog and Toad, Elephant and Piggie, Narwhal and Jelly, George and Harold…Death and Sparkles the Unicorn..???
They are the dynamic duo of the new middle grade graphic novel Death & Sparkles by author/illustrator Rob Justus. Beautiful, brightly colored characters and lively banter make this such fun story to lose yourself in. There are many layers to this graphic novel, including a clever and darkly humorous social critique. My 8-year-old son and I both loved reading this together (he saw the colorful cover and made a beeline for it), and we are already looking forward to the next installment with anticipation.
I am so excited to talk to Rob today about his new book and his incredible work as an author and illustrator.
Hilary Margitich: Rob, welcome to Writers’ Rumpus! Can you tell me what inspired you to write this story?
Rob Justus: A few years ago, my good friend Katherine Battersby, who is also an author and an illustrator, mentioned to me over brunch that middle grade graphic novels were becoming quite an exciting thing, and shared an idea that she had for one of her own. I had been having a lot of fun doing picture books up until that point, but this conversation got my wheels turning. Then the very next day, my agent Molly O’Neill asked me if I had ever tried my hand at longer form storytelling and graphic novels. I grew up reading comic books, and that was almost all I read as a kid. I was a huge superhero fan. So, I went away for a little while and thought of some ideas, and then came back to Molly with five different ideas. I thought the Death and Sparkles one could maybe work, but the idea of the grim reaper and this cute unicorn was a little more risque, and I wasn’t sure if it would be age-appropriate or not. But when I pitched the concept to her, she really liked the oddball pairing.
Originally, this was going to be more like a Narwhal and Jelly, with skits for each chapter, but once Molly advised me to start world-building I just went crazy with that aspect of it, and started writing everything that I found interesting. Death & Sparkles is really a book that I wrote for me, and I just happened to have the humor of an eight-to-ten-year-old! It started with drawing Death first, and what would be a funny story for him, where Death is an office worker. He doesn’t really like his job, but he plods along at it, and follows the rules without really questioning anything. He is too afraid to quit. From there, the story just started spit-balling. What if he were friends with an exuberant unicorn? That would be a funny pairing, to have the dichotomy of those two different personalities. I really had a fun time writing this first book, and it just poured out of me. Also, coming up with Sparkles’ backstory, his personality, and the environment that he lives in. I found the back-and-forth between the two characters really fun. They are this oddball couple that don’t like each other at first, but then really end up becoming friends because of all these other circumstances.
I’m working on the second Death and Sparkles book right now, and I have three or four more books in my mind for this, so hopefully I can keep making these. I think it talks to the times in a weird way, and I hope it finds a great audience. It’s aimed at children, but I feel that it also has crossover appeal to quirky adults who love adventure.
HM: Did you have any graphic novels or comic books that inspired you when you started making this?
RJ: Somebody pointed me towards The Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey. They’re junior reader books, and there’s a whole series of them, where it’s a wolf and all of these animals. They’re bad characters that try to do good, but fail miserably often. I just found the humor so funny, and these books were so quick to read, and so fast-paced. I’d say those were probably my biggest influence for Death & Sparkles, just in the humor level and pacing of the story. I thought they were awesome.
HM: When did you first realize that writing and illustrating for children was your calling?
RJ: Growing up, I drew all the time. I wanted to be a comic book artist. That was kind of my thing and my dream. But at the time, I was discouraged from pursuing art because it wasn’t considered a safe, secure career path. It’s really competitive. So at university, I pivoted to a Sociology/Mass Communications major, which I found really interesting. I’m a bit of a math brain as well, and there was a statistics course that I really got into. From there, I fell into market research, and spent a good ten years or so doing that. I’m a curious person by nature, as I think a lot of creative people are. Market research allowed me to be creative by helping companies with their ad campaigns and helping government clients target certain people and get messages out that way. At the same time, I don’t think I was cut out for office work. I liked my job, but I certainly didn’t love it. Then when the market in Ottawa took a turn, I was laid off.
I started drawing again for the first time in about fifteen years. I started drawing cute little things for my niece and nephews, and got to see them have a fun reaction. Someone asked me if I had ever tried doing picture books, so I decided to try it. I re-taught myself how to draw, with color theory and composition. I have no formal art training whatsoever…zero. I read books on writing, watched YouTube videos on drawing, and just started playing around. I went to an SCBWI conference, and brought my portfolio at the time to be evaluated by an art director. That was kind of my make or break point, where I told myself if they really like my work, I’ll continue pursuing this career, but if they don’t, I’ll go back to finding an office job. They just so happened to really like what I had, and that was when I decided I was going to go head-first and see where this took me. For the last six or seven years, I’ve been on a life-changing journey. A crazy, crazy journey.
HM: What was your path to publication like?
RJ: I’m lucky in that I was able to get an agent pretty quickly after meeting with the art director at the SCBWI conference, but it was really by happenstance. I met an editor at that same conference, who told me one of her co-workers, Molly O’Neill, had just become an agent, and was looking for author/illustrators. I sent Molly an email with a few samples and a story, and she got back to me right away. We did a dance back and forth for a little while– she wanted to see how well I would take comments and revisions, and how I worked with that sort of stuff. After a couple of months, she signed me, and I think I was one of her first signees, as an agent.
From there, we went out trying to get my books out into the world. After about a year and a half, we got picked up by Page Street for a couple of books. Kid Coach came out last year. In terms of Death & Sparkles, we had it on submission for a while, and then finally towards the end, I was getting a little dejected, feeling like it wasn’t going to happen. Then all of a sudden, it went into a bidding war, out of nowhere.
HM: What is your writing and illustrating schedule/routine like?
RJ: I am a morning person, through and through. That is when I find I do my best work and it’s the best time for me to build momentum. So, for me, a day can start off really well, and I can just keep riding that wave all day, sometimes even into the evening. There have been times, like at crunch time, when I’ll easily put in a sixteen-hour day, just churning stuff out. But I’m definitely a morning person. I wake up knowing what I need to do, and stick to a routine. I get my coffee, sit down at my desk, and just let stuff pour out of me. Afternoon is when I’ll have a bit of a lull, generally, and I’m a big napper, and then I’ll regroup from there. And then sometimes in the evening, it picks up again.
HM: What advice would you give to new and aspiring author/illustrators?
RJ: I know exactly what advice I would give, and that is to persist! I tell a lot of people that this is a marathon and not a sprint. You’ve got to be prepared to be rejected often, and you’ve got to have a thick skin when it comes to that. But you also have to learn from these rejections, as well, and take the criticism as a learning experience. Then just keep chugging along, and you will make it at some point. That’s just kind of how it is. I’ve noticed that a lot of people that I met at that first conference have dropped off, but those that have stayed and kept working have started to get published, get agents, and get their name out there. It’s a long journey, and we live in the age of instant everything, so I think people’s expectations are to write the best book ever, blow everybody’s mind, and then they are a little shocked when that doesn’t happen. You’ve got to keep working at it because nothing happens overnight. It’s just one foot in front of the other, and keep going.
Also, I think one of the key things, when you are a creative person, is to have supportive people around you. My fiance, from the day I met her six years ago, has pushed me, even when I felt like giving up. As writers and artists, we all go through this, where we think it’s not working out and question what we are doing. We work by ourselves often, and are always getting in our heads. A lot of us have imposter syndrome, and it’s good to be reminded that we are not imposters, and that this is what we do. That there is a career out there for us. She’s always been there to pick me up and remind me.
HM: What are you working on now/next and where can people follow you on social media?
RJ: It’s really kind of funny that I have the next two years or so booked up! So that is really, really fun. I am slogging away through book two of Death and Sparkles, and it’s actually been a real challenge to write book two, I’m not going to lie. I think the pandemic has influenced my writing in a weird way, so I’ve been doing a lot of revisions to pump the humor into it again. It’s been a little different up here in Canada with the isolation and long periods of lockdown. I definitely felt a little caged in a two-bedroom apartment with my fiance and toddler. We just bought a house and have more space and breathing room, and right now, I’m about three hundred or so pages into the dummy book of the second Death and Sparkles. I tend to work really quickly, and I’m churning out about 40 fully-drawn pages a week. It’s a grind, but it will be good when it’s done.
Then after Death and Sparkles, I have my second book with Page Street coming out in February 2022, and that’s called Brave Enough. It’s a fun story about a boy who’s afraid of everything, especially monsters, and his older sister who doesn’t believe in monsters. It’s about her dragging him along to prove that monsters don’t exist, until they encounter a real monster. And that will be another bright and colorful picture book. I’m also illustrating a licensed project coming out in September, which is in a different art style, and a really fun book.
Hopefully, I will find some time to write some new stories. I haven’t written a picture book in about a year, so I’m looking forward to diving into the fun, bouncy nature of that medium. Graphic novels and picture books each require a different mindset, for sure.
My main social media account that I stick to is Instagram, and you can follow me at @robjustus.
Rob Justus is a former market researcher turned picture book author/illustrator and graphic novelist. Like Sparkles the Unicorn, he hopes to have a line of designer socks someday. Rob lives behind a funeral home in Ottawa, Canada.
Interview with Debut Author and Illustrator Rob Justus
February 6, 2020Authors + Illustrators, Debut InterviewsLindsay Ward3 Comments
Happy Thursday Critters! We are officially back for 2020 and I can’t wait to share all the fantastic interviews we have scheduled this year. So let’s kick things off with the first debut interview of the year…
Please welcome Rob Justus!
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Where do you live?
I live in the capital of Canada, Ottawa. In fact I’m fortunate enough to actually just live a few blocks away from the Parliament buildings, which to me, is pretty nerdy-cool!
When did you know you wanted to write/illustrate picture books?
Growing up all I wanted to do was draw comic books. It was all I read, and all I drew was superheroes. Fast forward almost twenty years, I started writing and drawing simple, very bad, stories for my sister’s children. I shared them with some friends and their children, and they all seemed to enjoy them, so I thought I’d take a serious stab at doing this professionally.
Tell us about your road to publication, what did that involve for you?
I feel like my journey to publication started before I even knew I wanted to work in children's books.
Like many people, I wasn’t happy with where I was in life - I just didn’t know what it was that I wanted. Then I started drawing again...and I remembered how much I loved it!
Life took several very difficult turns for me, but at the same time I felt it pushed me more and more towards a creative lifestyle. I had played it safe, and that hadn’t worked for me. So I thought I’d take a chance seriously pursue writing and illustration as a career. I went to SCBWI conferences, landed an awesome agent, Molly O’Neill, and started sending out submissions. I had a lot of rejection, but tried to learn from every pass that I got.
Then I took a shower...and during that magical shower I came up with what would eventually become Kid Coach. I shared it with my agent and several dozen revisions later we had something to share with publishers.
Soon after, I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down and have lunch with Kristen Nobles of Page Street Kids. I drove five hours to have a GREAT two hour lunch only to turn around and drive five hours back home. It was the best decision I had ever made. A few days later, hours after a tornado or two had ripped through the city where I live - leaving me without electricity for a few days. I received a call from my agent saying that Page Street Kids would like to offer me a two book deal! Oddly enough, all my friends and family were out of town that weekend so I celebrated my long journey to publication alone and in the dark. It was the best.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
I step back for a day or two. Get out and see friends.
Most new ideas come to me when I’m not really thinking about writing or in places where you zone out, like when I’m running. These ideas are either just an image of a character in a certain setting, or a turn of phrase, or bouncy line, but from that stories blossom and snowball.
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Tell us about your debut book.
Kid Coach is a slamtastic book about a son who is determined to change his dad from a couch potato to a champion. Of course the only way to do this is by signing Dad up for WRESTLE-RUMBLE-MANIA-KINGDOM TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS!!! Surprisingly, Dad is really good at wrestling, but not so good at sportsmanship. It’s up to Kid Coach to help Dad become a better winner and right his wrongs, and hopefully make some friends along the way.
Kid Coach is a fun, action packed, read-out-loud book with colours and colourful characters that pop right off the page! Not gonna lie, I’m really proud of this book.
Illustration from KID COACH by Rob Justus
Illustration from KID COACH by Rob Justus
Illustration from KID COACH by Rob Justus
Illustration from KID COACH by Rob Justus
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
Does it have to be just one? The 80s were a pretty good time for sci-fi ...So if I have to pick just one it’d be...Aliens. No wait. It’d be Back to the Future. Wait! It’s definitely Ghostbusters...Or is it E.T? Actually you want to know what? When it doubt, you gotta go with the bacon...Kevin Bacon that is, and the best movie of all time: Footloose.
Huge thank you to Rob for stopping by Critter Lit to chat with us today. Congrats on your debut book! We can’t wait to see what you’ll create next!
ROB JUSTUS chopped his way out of a career in market research and slammed into the publishing ring with his jammin’ debut book, KID COACH! Wrestling words and art as the Screaming Scribbler, Rob has wrangled many big guys, bad guys and bald guys with his signature move: THE DOUBLE-DARE DOODLE DEVASTATOR! Rob trains to be a true champion in Ottawa, Canada. He’s rep’d by Molly O’Neill at Root Literary.
Justus, Rob BRAVE ENOUGH Page Street (Children's None) $17.99 2, 8 ISBN: 978-1-64567-349-1
Little Brother shows his sibling that courage can come in different forms.
Scared of monsters that are seemingly everywhere, Little Brother hides away, reading up on monsters. But according to his sibling, the narrator of this story, "monsters are just a bunch of phony-baloney fantasy make-believe!" Armed with an arrogant but well-meaning confidence, Little Brother's sibling drags him on an adventure to teach him how to be "brave enough, brash enough." As they search an abandoned-looking property for monsters, Little Brother's attempts to be seen and heard by his sibling are routinely dismissed. Ready to declare the grounds monster-free, the two fall down a giant hole and land in front of a large pink monster. Suddenly, it's Little Brother's quick thinking and reading skills that save the day in an entertaining moment involving a monster hoe-down. Snappy text punctuated with snippets of alliteration reinforces the sibling's bold, breezy attitude, one that steamrolls over Little Brother. The illustrations are expressive and dynamic, each scene buzzing with comedic energy. The bright color palette utilizes cheery oranges, greens, and purples to hint at the story's more-sweet-than-scary ending. Little Brother and his sibling have light-brown skin and black hair.
A charming tribute to sibling dynamics that will amuse anyone who's been underestimated--but proven a hero in the end. (Picture book. 3-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Justus, Rob: BRAVE ENOUGH." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684108265/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e72fba7d. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.
Justus, Rob DEATH & SPARKLES Chronicle Books (Children's None) $22.99 9, 7 ISBN: 978-1-79720-635-6
Death and Sparkles are ready to take on the world!
And by world, we mean social media consumption, the temptations of fame, the fickle nature of celebrity, and the connection between consumerism and ecology. But still, that’s a lot! When Sparkles, the last unicorn on Earth, has a fatal accident while promoting a sponsored product, he comes into contact with Death, an otherworldly employee of the claims department who is armed with the “powers of bureaucracy.” (I.e., he kills creatures by touching them, but only if their paperwork is in order.) At the same time, a trio of sentient extraterrestrial lizards are trying to educate humanity about proper citizenship and planetary care. With Sparkles’ death, the trio are lured into being a substitute act by Sparkles’ manager. How will the influencer lifestyle pair with their values of personal responsibility and conservation? And what happens if Sparkles comes back to life? The story juggles a lot, but it manages to deftly keep all the balls in the air and packs several compelling messages into one very funny graphic novel. The memorable digital illustrations in soft pastels evoke watercolors and colored pencil and complement the text with flair. Readers will be enchanted and will ponder for some time the ideas presented here.
Powerful and fun. (Graphic science fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Justus, Rob: DEATH & SPARKLES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2021, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A668237878/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=18a1da8e. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.
Justus, Rob KID COACH Page Street (Children's Fiction) $17.99 2, 4 ISBN: 978-1-62414-886-6
Kid Coach and Dad learn the meaning of true championship in this debut picture book.
Young Kid Coach trains his skinny, couch-potato dad for the ultimate competition "in the grandest arena of them all--Wrestle-Rumble Mania Kingdom Tournament of Champions." Dad throws down against a series of flamboyant, muscled "guys"--big, bad, and bald. Each time, Dad wins with his inescapable "Tater Tangler," but during all his training, Kid Coach forgot to teach Dad how a victor treats fellow competitors. Dad dances too long and refuses to shake hands. Large, flashy illustrations capture the playful energy of the narration and lend to sharing the book with a storytime audience. Repetition also increases the read-aloud appeal. Mixing it with potato humor, Justus presents a valuable lesson about integrity and kindness. The wrestlers don't care about the gifts or high-fives Dad offers to make up for his behavior until he gives a sincere apology. Unfortunately, the book lacks diversity. Both Kid Coach and Dad are white, and white (or, oddly, purple or pink) characters outnumber the two people of color depicted in the illustrations. One of them is black, and the other wears a Mexican lucha libre mask. Additionally, the text refers to all the wrestlers as "guys" and the competition as a "Kingdom," so there are presumably no other genders represented in the story.
A lively story with a positive message--but not a true champion of inclusion. (Picture book. 3-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Justus, Rob: KID COACH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Nov. 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A605549402/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d84cd90b. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.
JUSTUS, Rob. Death & Sparkles. illus. by Rob Justus. 368p. Chronicle. Sept. 2021. Tr $22.99. ISBN 9781797206356; pap. $12.99. ISBN 9781797206363.
Gr 4-8--Outgoing Sparkles the unicorn is a beloved celebrity who promotes sunshine, rainbows, candy, flowers, cupcakes, and socks; his agent handles merchandising and promotion. Death, or at least an avatar of death who works as a "collections agent," makes his lonely daily rounds and files paperwork for each collected soul. When a publicity stunt goes wrong, Death collects Spar kles's soul, only for Sparkles to be sent back to the realm of the living from the great beyond. Sparkles is assigned to find a greater purpose in life, which starts with removing his horn from Death's behind. Together, they wander from Death's organized, solitary perch to the chaos of nature and people, opening up to each other along the way. Meanwhile, a group of alien lizards who want to spread an eco-conscious message on Earth replace Sparkles in the influencer hierarchy, rebranding themselves as the Lizard Bros. Justus's jokes about death, marketing, and the fickle nature of fame are both playful and morbid, as when Death accidentally kills a crowd at a party. Gentle art, rendered in watercolor and colored pencil, softens what could have been a far darker story. The narrative's point of view jumps around a lot, but readers should not have any trouble keeping track of the vibrant personalities and their motives. VERDICT Introverts and extroverts alike will unite watching true friendship blossom between Death and a magic unicorn.--Thomas Maluck, Richland Lib., SC
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Maluck, Thomas. "JUSTUS, Rob. Death & Sparkles." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 12, Dec. 2021, p. 92. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A686052305/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b3210dde. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.
JUSTUS, Rob. Kid Coach, illus. by Rob Justus. 32p. Page Street. Feb. 2020. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781624148866.
Gr 1-3--This book covers a lot of thematic territory. Within the first three pages, the character of Kid Coach forces his lazy dad to stop watching wrestling videos on the couch, start a weight training regimen, and reform his diet in order to be in tip-top shape for a real wrestling ring. From there, Dad effortlessly triumphs in the ring against a parade of wrestlers approximately 43 times his size. However, Dad must be taught another lesson after his prideful gloating and poor sportsmanship hurt the other men's feelings. Justus's illustrations are bright and colorful. His crew of wrestlers is composed of a man in a leopard costume, a blond man in a pink fur coat, a luchador who takes up more than an entire page, and even more big personalities who wouldn't be out of place in the WWE. Text is simple and printed in bold, easy-to-read type. Word size varies for emphasis. For instance, "little" is printed in a small font and "big" in a larger one. The message about what makes a true champion is a little didactic, but it's heartwarming to see Kid Coach, Dad, and the burly wrestlers come together in the end. VERDICT A playful title to remind readers that important lessons about sportsmanship can be learned at any age.--Chance Lee Joyner, Wilton Public and Gregg Free Library, NH
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Joyner, Chance Lee. "JUSTUS, Rob. Kid Coach." School Library Journal, vol. 66, no. 1, Jan. 2020, p. 58. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A610418387/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=05ebdfd6. Accessed 3 Apr. 2022.