In a spiritual companion to his National Book Award­­­ winning Hey, Kiddo, Krosoczka offers another autobiographical comic, this time about the first year he spent volunteering at a summer camp for terminally ill children and their families. He chronicles his initial anxiety about working at the camp, meeting and befriending the kids there, the bonds he shared with the other counselors, and his continuing commitment to similar organizations. In a visual style similar to Hey, Kiddo, peachy washes of orange and yellow create a nice sense of warmth, and that feels very intentional; he's careful to keep the mood light and positive during scenes at the camp. Of course, death looms in the background, and once the summer is over, he shares details about some of the campers who eventually succumbed to their cancers. While it's gratifying to see the effect the camp had on the children and their families in Krosoczka's respectful and thoughtful hands, their perspectives are a noticeable (and inevitable) absence e the artist's no-doubt life-changing experience can't quite account for.

In this stand-alone companion to Krosoczka's graphic memoir, Hey, Kiddo (2018), 16-year-old Jarrett spends a life-changing week at Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for seriously ill children and their families.In 1994, artistic Jarrett, who flies under the radar at school, joins a diverse assortment of his Worcester, Massachusetts, high school classmates chosen to travel to Maine as camp volunteers. His one-on-one assignment is with Diego, who has advanced brain cancer and is a wheelchair user. Diego is withdrawn and uninterested in camp but is eventually brought out of his shell by Jarrett's quiet companionship. The slice-of-life story follows activities and developing friendships at what is in most ways a typical summer camp, yet it's one filled with kids in extraordinary circumstances enjoying the rare privilege of being ordinary. Krosoczka's art has an appealingly painterly and deliberately loose style-it's easy to see why the campers enjoy his cartoons. Especially notable is the limited color palette tending to grays, oranges, and yellows, like the titular sunshine playing across old photos. The matter-of-fact tone often, but not always, avoids leaning too hard into sentimentality. But ultimately this is a narrative in large part about inspiration provided by sick children to healthy people. This brings with it inherent and perhaps unavoidable issues with presenting the campers as lessons. The book is stronger when it prioritizes the reality of the kids themselves and gives their interior lives focus.Loving and true but doesn't always avoid cliché. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 14-18)

Gr 7 Up— Krosoczka's follow-up to Hey, Kiddo tenderly depicts his formative experiences in 1994 as a 16-year-old camp counselor at a summer camp for children with severe illnesses, who attend with their families. He is closest to a young white child, Eric, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and Diego, a younger teen with brown skin who is losing cognitive and motor skills because of a brain tumor. Krosoczka brings empathy and personal attention to every camper and family member he can, in hopes that they enjoy their limited time away from hospitals and treatments. The color scheme, with yellows and auburns shining out from gray and smudged backgrounds, reflects everyone's effort to find joy in trying circumstances. Counselors' dialogue, whether hanging out, planning activities, or discussing death and faith, makes it easy to feel attached to them all as they mature and reflect on what the camp means to them. Each of the adult counselors brings a unique perspective to the camp's work, with their personalities more fully revealed by summer's end. Chapter openers include photos, drawings, and newspaper clippings from Krosoczka's time at camp, and an afterword provides context about differences between the contents of the book and what really happened. The teen group sings Billy Joel's "Lullabye" as part of the end-of-camp Farewell Show, in a moment that will linger with readers long after the book's ending. VERDICT An admirable look back at a life turned toward service, optimism, and love.— Thomas Maluck