The Noise Inside Boys

April 1, 2023
Amid the hubbub of boisterous play, can a young boy learn to listen to the "noise inside" him? Three brothers spend an exuberant day at the beach, leaping, running, and playing soccer. When the ball careens into the red-shirted boy's sand castle, the fun and games end abruptly. Overcome with emotion, the child storms off. Back at home, the narrative takes on the voice of the still-hurting protagonist's sympathetic dad: "Take a beat. This moment won't last. / Breathe in, breathe out. Let the noises pass." Gentle rhymes speak to the wide range of feelings the child is capable of: happiness, loneliness, fear, anxiety, jealousy, anger, grief. The parent's message is to "Listen to your emotions--learn how to name them. / Then you'll know better how to name them." Oswald's watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and digital illustrations use engaging color and texture to highlight various emotions; the family members have light skin, short hair, and slim builds. While the emphasis on men encouraging boys to identify their feelings is important, the story doesn't offer further strategies for how to process big feelings. In an increasing field of picture books on emotional literacy, other options deal more deftly with this subject. Backmatter includes a visual glossary of 20 emotions, depicted by humans of different skin tones, hair textures, and genders. (This book was reviewed digitally.) This book on boys' emotional lives will resonate with some but falls a little flat in its scope. (Picture book. 4-8)

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March 20, 2023
Oswald (Sleepy Sheepy) invites readers to consider “the noise inside boys” while tracing feelings’ internal ebb and flow. As a white-presenting family hits the beach, the youngest sibling of three takes time constructing an ambitious sandcastle, which topples when a soccer ball sails right into the middle of it. The child stands wordless, clutching a beach towel, wind-like swirls signaling a welter of feelings before the child takes off at a run. Back home, the youth’s caregiver works with the child to catalog a range of emotions in loose, light rhymes (“You might feel worried.../ or jealous.../ or mad”) as corresponding, digitally finished monochrome vignettes show other scenarios: the kid fretting over schoolwork, watching others receive trophies, and experiencing taunting. Images of the child swinging a bat with confidence and dancing a ballet solo next indicate settings in which they might feel pleased with themselves. The title raises questions about gender and emotion that the text never delves into, making this a straightforward picture book primer centered on internal noticing: “Listen to your emotions—learn how to name them./ Then you’ll know better how to explain them.” A closing chart shows the faces of 20 children portrayed with different skin tones, each expressing an emotion. Ages 3–7.