Title: Little Mans Big Day
Author: Lonnie Lesane Sr.
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-7273-9
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 24
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
The mind of a child is an amazing place; filled with discombobulated thoughts, rules of behavior which contradict actions at times, and sensitive feelings. It is a place where discoveries in the realm of imagination, coupled along with innocence, brews a sense of reality unimaginable by adults. It is a place unique to each and every child. This sets the foundation for author Lonnie Lesane Sr.’s illustrated children’s book Little Mans Big Day.
In this story we are introduced to Purciville Delano James, Jr. A four-and-a-half-year-old boy with a name so long, his friends just call him Percy. This young man knows it is time (because Batman is on TV) to go to the school with his mom to pick up his brother; but on this day his mom has a throbbing headache and falls asleep on the couch. So off goes Percy with his dog named D.O.G. to the school.
On the way they take a shortcut through an alley, where we are first brought to the narrative of Percy’s imagination seeing monsters and scary dark shadows hiding in
every corner. Then out to the street where is gets some candy by a local shop owner, and stopped by a policeman who happens to be a friend of Percy’s dad to make sure the young lad was okay. Then some howling sirens come toward him, so he puts his dog into a dumpster and jumps in, closing the lid. As the sound passes, he and D.O.G. emerge to find his brother, out of school, looking at him in disbelief of why Percy would hide in a dumpster. So on and so forth, the story ends happily.
The artful illustrations add credibility to the author’s narrative as written through the eyes of Percy. The logic employed by Percy shows the misconceptions children often perceive from their view of their surroundings. The author does a creative and clever building up of tensions resulting in Percy’s behavior, showing a talent for seeing the world through the eyes of a youngster. This brings in an “adventure” aspect to this book, which undoubtably will enjoyed by all children.
Little Mans Big Day is a short and to-the-point story, ideal for bedtime. The illustrations bring in the images to youngsters as they inject their own imagination into the storyline, and think about what they would do in such cases.
