The Unlucky Kid

Gr 1-3–Quin is an unlucky kid with incredible resiliency, as he demonstrates in three humorous stories about regular life events, such as losing a tooth. A cast of main characters is introduced on the first splash page, which includes Mom, Kitty (a cat), Sissy, Jose, and Quin, who is flying above them as if released from a canon. Colorful art panels are clean, and the text is large and spaced nicely for younger readers. Digital art incorporates a bright palette with expressive detail for characters’ faces. Quin’s first adventure takes him to the beach, where he is overwhelmed by seagulls who want his fries. One splash shows a tiny Quin, with seagulls massed in the foreground. In another panel, he exclaims, “Holy Hitchcock.” Quin frequently uses “holy” and a noun when faced with a predicament, and these create laughable moments between adults and children. A master planner, Quin devises methods for pulling his tooth in the second story, and later, for his plans for a fishing trip. Although his schemes fail because he is one unlucky kid, they demonstrate his ingenuity and creativity. Alliteration assists with dialogue flow, although young readers on their own may not understand some language, such as the idiom “let’s slow down them horses.”