Novelist and poet Sherman Alexie, who won a National Book Award for his YA debut, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, makes his picture-book debut with Thunder Boy Jr., illustrated by Mexico-born Yuyi Morales, four-time Pura Belpré winner and the Caldecott Honor artist behind Viva Frida.
Alexie tells the playful and profound story of Thunder Boy Smith Jr., a Native American boy who adores the dad he's named for, but still wishes he could have his own name. The "Big Thunder"/"Little Thunder" as father/son distinction isn't working for him, either. ("That nickname makes me sound like a burp or a fart," he says.) Why can't he be given a name, as is a generations-old Native American tradition, that celebrates something he's achieved on his own--something specific to him? "I once climbed a mountain," Thunder Boy says, "so maybe my name should be TOUCH THE CLOUDS."
While Alexie writes with humor and real emotion, Morales takes the boy's dreamy, name-related musings and shoots them into the stratosphere with her electrifying illustrations. Together they paint a picture of a happy, creative family where there's love and laughter and music every day, and within that joy, plenty of room for deeply felt questions of personal identity. --Karin Snelson, children's & YA editor, Shelf Awareness