The Inner Child

Don’t be fooled, advises Blackshaw, making his picture book debut—inside every adult is a kid very much like readers themselves. To underscore his point, he presents a cast of four grown-ups in bright washes (one character sports a beehive hairdo; another, a mesh tank top and headband) and superimposes on each a negative-space cutout of a much younger and far less buttoned-down self. No matter how adults try to keep a lid on their inner child by “pretending to be busy and stressed all the time,” Blackshaw confides in handwritten text, the inner child eventually emerges: just look at the goofy way grown-ups dance, or their delight in a new “gadget.” It’s not all fun and games, however: inner children are also the keepers of deep-seated emotions such as hurt, frustration, and fear. In one of the book’s more poignant images, a blue-suited character turns red and shakes with rage as his inner child weeps. The wrap-up works to recover an upbeat, empathic tone—nurturing an inner child can make adult life “SO MUCH FUN!”—but readers may come away thinking that Peter Pan was on to something after all. Ages 5–up. [em](Aug.) [/em]