Echo
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Adam Rex has created a funny and timely conversation starter about how dull life might be if everyone always agreed
Everyone always agrees with Junior, including the mysterious voice from across the valley.
“Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” he shouts.
“Junior Junior is the greatest in the world!” the echo shouts back.
Until one day, a new girl moves in next door. A disagreeable, rude girl who doesn’t think Junior is right all the time. Unable to stand living next door to someone like that, Junior runs to the valley to meet his echo. But when being around someone who agrees with him all the time is less fun than he imagines, Junior must decide if a new friend is worth admitting he was wrong.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this socio-emotional picture book, young Junior Junior finds a seemingly ideal friend in the echo that bounces off an adjacent mountain near his high-altitude home. When he shouts approbations such as "JUNIOR JUNIOR IS THE GREATEST IN THE WORLD!" the echo immediately agrees. Then a real kid, Sandy, moves in next door; not only does she refuse to echo Junior Junior's inflated sense of self, she also calls him out when he's wrong. Flummoxed, Junior Junior runs away to hang full-time with the echo, embodied as the child's doppelganger. But the echo's constant agreement soon becomes tiresome, and the child realizes it's more fun to be with someone who challenges and engages. "I'm glad you're here," Junior Junior tells Sandy after offering an apology, and when Sandy reflects those exact words back, he learns the importance of having an authentic mirror. Astutely recognizing the universal allure of constant validation, Rex (Tumblebaby) employs a slyly comic narrative and sculptural digital drawings to nudge readers toward a greater truth: real reciprocity thrives on the perspective that everyone brings to the table. Characters are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 4–8.
