I Feel Five [Hardcover]

What is turning five supposed to feel like, anyway? A charming look at growing older, from a child’s point of view.

Fritz can’t wait to turn five! His birthday starts off well when he eats all five of his birthday pancakes and gets brand-new sneakers that fit perfectly. But when he peeks in the mirror, everything looks the same. And his teeth won’t wiggle — not a single one. Even after he gets to wear the birthday crown and everyone sings to him at school, five still feels an awful lot like four did. Will Fritz ever feel five? In this sweet picture book that’s perfect for children of any age, Bethanie Deeney Murguia explores how it feels to grow up.This ... beautifully told story should prompt intriguing conversations on how events like birthdays infuse meaning into the flow of days that makes up our lives—even when any actual day-to-day change is barely evident. Fritz and his Marmaduke-size dog make excellent companions on this philosophical journey, leavening big questions with kid-scaled humor.
—Publishers Weekly

Murguia has perfectly captured the child perspective here, and Fritz’s trials and tribulations will be easily recognizable to young listeners. The idea that the feeling of five comes not with a quiet reflection but with an action is convincing and effective, and the independent apple-picking is a tidy callback to the opening spread, where Fritz’s father must lift him up to grab apples from a fruit-filled tree. The line and watercolor illustrations pair tidy linework with muted, somewhat autumnal palette, awash with dusty reds, pale yellows, and washed-out blues in airy compositions; gently varied compositions add rhythm, and spare drafts- manship is still plenty accessible as Fritz works through his problem. Those who, like Fritz, feel five (or thereabouts) will greatly appreciate this birthday tale.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Self-assured pen,l/