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A review by bbckprpl
Captain Starfish by Davina Bell
5.0
Reviewed here for CBR 13
In short, I loved it. In a little bit longer:
"Captain Starfish by Davina Bell- Alfie, our hero, is supposed to play the top Starfish in his costume parade. At first, he’s excited about his role. But as the day gets closer, poor Alfie starts to feel a familiar feeling, and not in a good way. It’s the feeling he had about his friend’s birthday party, when he had to ask him mum to turn her car around and go home instead. Other times, too, Alfie felt this heavy weight, this weirdness, this ____ feeling that sometimes keeps him awake all night long. When the morning of the parade comes, Alfie knows he just can’t be Captain Starfish. Because of that feeling.
And that’s when this book went from good to “Ok but will I be able to read this aloud without crying” (the answer to this question is no, but that’s fine, all of my niblings know I get really emotional about things: People have emotions, and sometimes crying is happy and sad at the same time.) Because after a night of tossing and turning, of dreaming that he was carrying the whole wide ocean on his back, and whispering his fears to his cowboy wallpaper in the hopes that it would fix everything,
“Mom came in and sat on his bed, and Alfie said to her, “I can’t.” He turned to look at her face and said, “Please don’t be angry.”
Illustration of boy in bed w/stuffed animal, mother sitting on bed looking at him. text below
Look at this child.
If you’ve never had anxiety, if you’ve never felt like you were letting down every single person in your life, and even people you don’t even know, because you just COULD NOT do the thing (whatever that thing might be), then probably that page won’t make you burst into tears. But if you do have anxiety? Or you’ve ever had anxiety? Or the kid you’re reading with has anxiety? The simple illustration of that little boy, his face almost blank, looking up at his smiling, caring mother, hoping she won’t reject him or be too upset with him, well it might hit a tender spot for you, too.
Alfie and his mom – who is not mad at him – go on a little adventure, instead of school and the dreaded costume parade, that day, and the world doesn’t end. Alfie still has that feeling at different points in his day, when he remember what was supposed to be happening, and what he was supposed to be doing – because anxiety doesn’t just disappear, even when the main stressors are removed, sometimes – but he’s ok. He gets through it. His day ends with a bath, just like always, and he thinks that next year, he might try something more in the lines of a clown fish – a fish that peeks out and then retreats, hides behind the coral, for his costume parade. (And later, we see that he does.)"
The completely validating emotional aspects of all of these stories (in so many different ways), are one of the reasons I love them so much. Pig is buoyed and appreciated by his friends, regardless of his anxiety. Alfie misses something that seems “important”, but the world doesn’t end when he misses it. His parents LISTEN to him, and BELIEVE him, and let him choose, and deal with the consequences of his choices. Dragons exist, and can be conquered. Sometimes they just happen, on any ordinary day, and there are ways to deal with them, no matter how overwhelming they feel.
Pig’s illustrated ‘what if’ spiral; Alfie checking in with his dad after the day goes crooked; Nick’s Dad taking him to the soccer field in the middle of thing night to find a magical dinosaur – all of these books are VALIDATING the emotions of young children in hugely positive, forward thinking ways. Pig’s descent into panic is believable, and relatable, and just this side of overwhelming. Nick’s Dad understands the need for a comfort item without question. Alfie’s parents figure out an alternative to the thing that was giving their kid sleepless nights.
Learning that Dragons aren’t a punishment, or a thing you have to pretend away, and that being brave takes practice, but gets easier the more you do it. It’s the way Alfie is able to express “All around him, the ocean felt as heavy as the world,” and we know what he means. And – more importantly – KIDS will know what he means. Without ever mentioning (ever!) the words anxiety or panic, all of these books convey those FEELINGS in a way kids can understand and connect to.
And having it broken down like that? Is such a valuable tool for teachers, and parents, and kids. Because that tornado of ‘worst possible things that could happen’ is NOT rare, and anxiety – in these pandemic times, especially – is so common, that it’s its own mental health crisis. We should be addressing it now, as it’s happening. Kids deserve to have books that treat mental health like just another part of their life, body, & experiences. They need these kind of books to help them build the social-emotional vocabulary, and essential skills that understanding how our brains work, & how to adapt to our brains, requires from us. It’s not even that difficult to incorporate coping skills and understanding into everyday stories, honestly? As illustrated beautifully in each of these books.
I don’t know about you, but my goal for the kids in my life – big & little – is to help them build their emotional intelligence up to the point that they’re eventually able to recognize, express, and feel all their feelings – even the really hard ones – in as healthy a way as possible. Having books like these around, as part of our emotionally literate library, is one of the tools I consider essential for that.
Hence, my gift giving book budget continues to grow & grow, and I have yet to feel even the tiniest bit sorry about it.
In short, I loved it. In a little bit longer:
"Captain Starfish by Davina Bell- Alfie, our hero, is supposed to play the top Starfish in his costume parade. At first, he’s excited about his role. But as the day gets closer, poor Alfie starts to feel a familiar feeling, and not in a good way. It’s the feeling he had about his friend’s birthday party, when he had to ask him mum to turn her car around and go home instead. Other times, too, Alfie felt this heavy weight, this weirdness, this ____ feeling that sometimes keeps him awake all night long. When the morning of the parade comes, Alfie knows he just can’t be Captain Starfish. Because of that feeling.
And that’s when this book went from good to “Ok but will I be able to read this aloud without crying” (the answer to this question is no, but that’s fine, all of my niblings know I get really emotional about things: People have emotions, and sometimes crying is happy and sad at the same time.) Because after a night of tossing and turning, of dreaming that he was carrying the whole wide ocean on his back, and whispering his fears to his cowboy wallpaper in the hopes that it would fix everything,
“Mom came in and sat on his bed, and Alfie said to her, “I can’t.” He turned to look at her face and said, “Please don’t be angry.”
Illustration of boy in bed w/stuffed animal, mother sitting on bed looking at him. text below
Look at this child.
If you’ve never had anxiety, if you’ve never felt like you were letting down every single person in your life, and even people you don’t even know, because you just COULD NOT do the thing (whatever that thing might be), then probably that page won’t make you burst into tears. But if you do have anxiety? Or you’ve ever had anxiety? Or the kid you’re reading with has anxiety? The simple illustration of that little boy, his face almost blank, looking up at his smiling, caring mother, hoping she won’t reject him or be too upset with him, well it might hit a tender spot for you, too.
Alfie and his mom – who is not mad at him – go on a little adventure, instead of school and the dreaded costume parade, that day, and the world doesn’t end. Alfie still has that feeling at different points in his day, when he remember what was supposed to be happening, and what he was supposed to be doing – because anxiety doesn’t just disappear, even when the main stressors are removed, sometimes – but he’s ok. He gets through it. His day ends with a bath, just like always, and he thinks that next year, he might try something more in the lines of a clown fish – a fish that peeks out and then retreats, hides behind the coral, for his costume parade. (And later, we see that he does.)"
The completely validating emotional aspects of all of these stories (in so many different ways), are one of the reasons I love them so much. Pig is buoyed and appreciated by his friends, regardless of his anxiety. Alfie misses something that seems “important”, but the world doesn’t end when he misses it. His parents LISTEN to him, and BELIEVE him, and let him choose, and deal with the consequences of his choices. Dragons exist, and can be conquered. Sometimes they just happen, on any ordinary day, and there are ways to deal with them, no matter how overwhelming they feel.
Pig’s illustrated ‘what if’ spiral; Alfie checking in with his dad after the day goes crooked; Nick’s Dad taking him to the soccer field in the middle of thing night to find a magical dinosaur – all of these books are VALIDATING the emotions of young children in hugely positive, forward thinking ways. Pig’s descent into panic is believable, and relatable, and just this side of overwhelming. Nick’s Dad understands the need for a comfort item without question. Alfie’s parents figure out an alternative to the thing that was giving their kid sleepless nights.
Learning that Dragons aren’t a punishment, or a thing you have to pretend away, and that being brave takes practice, but gets easier the more you do it. It’s the way Alfie is able to express “All around him, the ocean felt as heavy as the world,” and we know what he means. And – more importantly – KIDS will know what he means. Without ever mentioning (ever!) the words anxiety or panic, all of these books convey those FEELINGS in a way kids can understand and connect to.
And having it broken down like that? Is such a valuable tool for teachers, and parents, and kids. Because that tornado of ‘worst possible things that could happen’ is NOT rare, and anxiety – in these pandemic times, especially – is so common, that it’s its own mental health crisis. We should be addressing it now, as it’s happening. Kids deserve to have books that treat mental health like just another part of their life, body, & experiences. They need these kind of books to help them build the social-emotional vocabulary, and essential skills that understanding how our brains work, & how to adapt to our brains, requires from us. It’s not even that difficult to incorporate coping skills and understanding into everyday stories, honestly? As illustrated beautifully in each of these books.
I don’t know about you, but my goal for the kids in my life – big & little – is to help them build their emotional intelligence up to the point that they’re eventually able to recognize, express, and feel all their feelings – even the really hard ones – in as healthy a way as possible. Having books like these around, as part of our emotionally literate library, is one of the tools I consider essential for that.
Hence, my gift giving book budget continues to grow & grow, and I have yet to feel even the tiniest bit sorry about it.