I get so hungry

Campbell, B.M. with Bates, A. (2008). I get so hungry. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

This book tackles the national epidemic of obesity in children, through the eyes of Nikki, a young African-American girl. Her classmates tease her about her weight, calling her Supersize and Nikki Thicky. She has always relied on food to make herself feel better and when she starts, it’s hard to stop. It’s a family problem too, despite the pediatrician’s advice. When her overweight teacher, Mrs. Theodora Patterson, has a scare and starts to work for a healthier lifestyle, Nikki takes note. Her teacher drinks water and stops sneaking food. She walks to work and around the schoolyard between classes. Instead of reaching for the chips that night, Nikki asks her mom if it’s okay to walk with Mrs. Patterson before school. Her teacher tells her she is eating more healthy food, so she doesn’t get hungry throughout the day. Nikki’s mom is impressed by Mrs. Patterson’s weight loss and decides to walk with her daughter on weekends. By the start of the new school year, Nikki is healthy and no longer food dependent.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a children’s book about obesity before. I’ve seen books about mobility, diabetes, ELL students, and cancer, but this book intrigued me. Yes, it’s a bit simple. Food dependence is hardly solved in a fifty page children’s book. But this book is a mirror, and I think it’s a great idea to devote some time to a topic that is so affecting our population of children. It is surprisingly unpreachy or moralizing. The little girl is loved and cared for, but a bit in the wrong way. Her mom soothes a sad doctor’s visit with a trip to the doughnut shop. You know it’s bad, but there’s no finger shaking or scolding. And I liked that while obesity can have a snowball effect in a family, healthier living can as well. Mrs. Patterson’s commitment to the simple act of walking was contagious, getting a student and then her mother outside and moving. The watercolor and ink illustrations are lovely, very fresh and uncluttered/ She does draws expressions wonderfully, a downcast eye, a thrust out lip. And her characters have an inner glow and a softness that make them seem infinitely accessible and sympathetic. It reminds me of Marla Frazee’s work, similar to All the World. While this book isn’t necessarily worthy of an award, I think it’s a great toe-dip into a subject that needs more books. More children struggling with obesity deserve to know they are not alone in their fight. They deserve inspiration and characters that look and think like them and work hard and are rewarded. More of this, please.