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What People Are Saying About I'M BORED, I'M SAD and I'M WORRIED
(Last updated May 15, 2019)
PRESS ABOUT I'M WORRIED:
"A great launchpad for sharing about worries and developing vocabulary for thorny feelings." - Kirkus Reviews.
"A fun, reassuring storytime selection or one-on-one read for overly anxious children." - School Library Journal.
PRESS ABOUT I'M SAD:
"In this fresh, unconventional story, the text emphasizes that there are ways to feel better, that it’s okay to let yourself be sad, and that the burden of sadness eventually lightens." "VERDICT This is an accessible picture book that delicately handles the subject of sadness in children. Pair with Mo Willems’s My Friend is Sad for a lighthearted approach to a common tough topic" - School Library Journal, July 2018
"This is Ohi's third collaboration with comedian and writer Michael Ian Black, and it's their most affecting by far...I'M SAD is a bubbling Socratic dialogue on overcoming the blues."
- Quill & Quire, June 2018
"This book belongs in every classroom and every library and in every home!" - Colby Sharp
"Even if friends can make you laugh and feel a little better, sometimes it's ok to just feel sad. Pairs well with I'M BORED by the same author/illustrator." - Ditching Dewey, "10 Books To Help Foster Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, And Kindess In Your Classroom."
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PRESS ABOUT I'M BORED:
HONORS:
New York Times Notable Children's Book 2012
Junior Guild Library Selection, Fall/2012
WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING ABOUT I'M BORED:
From the Kirkus Reviews blog, October 12, 2012:
Excerpts:
"Sometimes a picture book gets it just right. And by 'it,' I mean clever concept, smart execution and all-around child-friendly vibe. It’s rare for one of those picture books to have been written by a so-called celebrity author—someone who made a name for him or herself in Hollywood and then decided to write children’s books—but Michael Ian Black has proven to be the exception to the rule."
"Ohi is wonderful at conveying facial expressions with the simplest of shapes, as well as gesturing."
"It’s an action-packed tale with an endearing protagonist—grumbles of discontent and all. Best of all, it’s topped off with a truly funny ending. Inspiring and stimulating, it’s a must-see picture book, particularly if you’re a teacher or librarian looking for good story-time reads. You’re almost guaranteed laughs with this one."
- Julie Danielson
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From The Globe & Mail, Sept.22, 2012:
Excerpts:
"...Beautifully written by Michael Ian Black and gorgeously illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi...It has the courage to go unfashionably old-school and suggest that our imagination, not our gadgets, is the only cure [for boredom]"...Both the writing and the illustrations are fearless." - Andrew Kaufman
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From The New York Times Sunday Book Review, Sept.16, 2012:
Excerpt:
"Black is a comedian and actor (“Stella,” “The State”) when not writing children’s books (“A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea”), and he tells his story in sprightly fashion. The illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi convincingly draws a child full of life, a potato full of — well, potatotude, and computer drawings that look just like good old-fashioned linocuts. Her smart cartoony artwork matches Black’s perfect comic timing, making for a fun ride that should leave you amused, perhaps pensive, and no longer bored." - David Small, The New York Times Sunday Book Review
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"Kids going stir-crazy? Bust out Michael Ian Black's 'I'm Bored', illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi." - Children's Book Council, Facebook Wall post (Tue. Oct. 30, 2012)
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"Ohi’s digitally created girl is a real charmer as she skips and twirls across the pages; the fantasy elements, rendered in pale blue and set on a crisp white background, nicely contrast the two full-colored characters, and the potato humorously pops up in the fantasies from time to time—for example, as a monkey’s coconut or as the head on a snowman." -- Booklist
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From School Library Journal, Sept 2012 issue:
Review excerpt:
"Ohi's captivating, digitally created illustrations are full of wit and charm...Quirky and fun to read aloud, this book is a sure antidote for cases of ennui."
Also their online article posted Monday, October 1st, 2012:
On the Radar: Top Picks from the Editors at Junior Library Guild: New Books to Make You L-O-L
by Deborah B. Ford
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From Publishers Weekly (starred review), July 9/2012:
Excerpt:
"It looks to be the ultimate ennui smackdown: a bored-out-of-her-gourd kid vs. an equally jaded potato.... Black (A Pig Parade Is a Terrible Idea) keeps this simple concept funny all the way through its final, LOL zinger. Debut illustrator Ohi’s minimalist, scraggly digital drawings are anything but boring, and speak volumes about irritation, desperation, and disdain."
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Excerpts from the October 2012 issue of Quill and Quire, review by Kerry Clare:
"Fans of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series will delight in the latest book by American comedian Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Toronto graphic artist Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Echoing Willems, Black’s story is constructed around the dialogue of an unlikely couple, in this case a small girl and a potato. The text is perfectly complemented by Ohi’s quirky minimalist drawings.
"Ohi’s depiction of the little girl, with her Charles Schultz–inspired big head and scraggly pigtails, will appeal to young readers, as will Black’s goofy humour. Kids will come away from this excellent book exactly the opposite of bored."
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From Today's Parent magazine, October 2012 issue, under "Hot Off The Presses":
Photo courtesy Adele Maclean.
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From Parenting Magazine, September 2012 issue, under "Star Fiction":
WHAT BLOGGERS ARE SAYING ABOUT I'M BORED:
(Note: See Debbie's Press/Appearances/Interviews Page for links to other bloglove!)
As someone who gets sad for seemingly little reason, I am so glad this new #picturebook is in the world from @michaelianblack and @inkyelbows #pernillerecommends https://t.co/1QEKEN2dST pic.twitter.com/6WB1uF3aWi
— Pernille Ripp (@pernilleripp) June 3, 2018
"Last week, in case you missed it, I wrote about Michael Ian Black’s I’m Bored (Simon & Schuster, September 2012), illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi. Here’s that link, and below are more illustrations from the book. (Did you all see author/illustrator David Small’s thoughts on I’m Bored over at the New York Times in September? That is here.)" - Jules on Seven Impossible Things
"With expressive illustrations and a hilarious point-counterpoint, a little girl demonstrates that children are less boring than potatoes. And there are waterfowl, too. Really." - Greg Leitich Smith
"Leave it to a potato to turn the tables on a kid’s favorite saying. A potato? A potato bored of KIDS? Why not? An ultimate triumph for imagination...Need a gift for that hard to please little one? I’m Bored will surely get you some extra hugs." - Carter Higgins, Design Mom
"The anthropomorphism and arrogance of this potato are hilarious and Ohi manages to capture this root vegetable’s ‘potatotude’ magnificently. It’s a comic romp with lively cartoon-like digital illustrations, with awesome facial expressions on both girl and spud. While written and illustrated for certain laughs, readers are also left with a great underlying question about what makes us bored or indeed boring!" - Joanna Marple, Miss Marple's Musings
"With few words, the author gets into the mind of a child (and a potato) perfectly. This is a laugh-out-loud book, and an identify-with-thoroughly book....Debbie’s illustrations are key to the humor of the book. With a few simple lines she captures the total ennui of the child – and the potato. As the child’s imagination soars, the backgrounds show what is happening in her imaginative play, and there are funny details that one catches the second, and third, and fourth time one reads the book. (Yes, it’s a “read this one again” book.)" - Beth Stilborn, By Word Of Beth
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT I'M BORED:
@inkyelbows Read I'M BORED to the kids at the bus stop today. They LOVED it! (Me, too!) CONGRATULATIONS! :)
>— Ame Dyckman (@AmeDyckman) September 29, 2012
For more Twitter comments, see What People On Twitter Are Saying About I'M BORED.