KidsBBookin: Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode: Mission Star-Power

Disclaimer: I am providing this review free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 5: Mission Star-Power 
by Marti Dumas

Illustrated by Stephanie Parcus
82 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316927-6
www.martidumasbooks.com

Lights...Camera...Action? Not only is Jaden Toussaint an aspiring animal scientist...he's also an aspiring TV star! But will JT get is chance at stardom?

Jaden and his sister Sissy love her new e-reader. They use it for everything: watching videos, playing games, etc. Everything but actually reading. Mama and Baba are prepared to take it away, but strike a deal with Jaden and Sissy to monitor their e-reader use. The two want to upload their own videos, but their parents say know. That changes when Jaden's class decides to do a play, and he strikes up a plan to have it recorded and put on the internet. (There goes that super-duper brain again!) Jaden and his class are all set, but trouble brews when Winston doesn't want to be in the play and Jaden comes to terms with his own stage fright.

A story within a story within a story. Marti Dumas layers Mission Star-Power, folding and unfolding the narrative and setting it in place so smoothly. Tackling issues of stage and caring for one's friends, Dumas spins this story with pointed pacing, making every word count as a master storyteller should. The illustrations are clever and textured, bolstering the wit of this new episode.

KidsBBookin: Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 3: Muffin Wars

Disclaimer: I am providing this review free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

Jaden Toussaint, The Great Episode 3: Muffin Wars 

by Marti Dumas
Illustrated by Stephanie Parcus
64 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316913-9
www.martidumasbooks.com

With trademark wit, spunk, and all around smartypants-ness, Jaden Toussaint is back with another hurdle his big-boy brain will find a way to get over.

Jaden is used to being good at everything: ninja dancing; being a smart guy; and being a good friend, brother, and son. He expects to be a good friend too when his cousin, Muffin, comes to visit. They haven't seen each other since they were babies. (Of course neither of them remembers because they were to little!) When Muffin has to stay with the Toussaint family while her parents hunt for an apartment, Jaden is set to teach her the ways of the five-year-old world. Well...that doesn't go as planned. Jaden finds that Muffin's just as smart and cultured as he is. Reeling from his own jealousy and anger, Jaden goes on a super-duper journey to understanding emotional intelligence, remaining humble, and learning that there's room in the world for one more ingenious genius.

Marti Dumas is back again tackling the complex emotions adults often overlook in children. With crisp text and humor, the Muffin Wars is the episode children's programming and education needs. Well-plotted with strong character development, this story charts Jaden's arc like a rainbow as he comes to terms with his own emotions and his decision to make room for another person's experience. Stephanie Parcus's illustrates with clean lines and a touch of haze that add texture to the narrative and acts like a camera filter bringing into focus the brilliant characterizations of the Toussaint world.