Anne Appert

The narrator (in serif font) and Blob (in speech bubbles) interact to get Blob's story straight: "B(l)ob is a creature of indeterminate kind." "An ambiguous being, if you will." Blob gets frustrated transforming from one thing to another and being called the wrong name (Bob), and the narrator backs off and lets Blob take the lead: "I can be cotton candy...or a cotton-candy taster!" "I don't think that's a thing..." Blob has to insist several times on the correct name (at least once the narrator agrees, but then says "Bob" again), and eventually decides, "Whatever I want to do is what blobs do, because I AM BLOB!" (Much the way that Harriet the Hamster Princess declares that she is a princess, so whatever she does is a thing that princesses do.) Blob is a cute character to deliver the message of staying true to your own identity and individuality.… (más)

"You can be anything you want to be!" is such a common message in children's books, but when grown-ups say it, it's often with specific ideas of what those things might be: scientist, president, artist, etc. That's what's happening in the first half of BLOB: an unseen narrator suggests all the animals the furry marshmallowish blob main character can be. After all, blobs can take on any shape they want! But the narrator calls the main character "Bob", despite protests that their name is "Blob" (with an L!), and only suggests a flurry of animal options.

In the second half of the book, Blob agrees they can be anything they want - and proceeds to suggest their own ideas, plus insisting on their proper name. Ultimately, they say, there are so many things they could be they can't decide what they like best, but they know they want to be themself, not what someone else thinks they should be.

I love the fun art style of the book with minimalist illustrations and a soft blue, green, orange, and pink color scheme. Blob looks a bit like a marshmallowy Cousin Itt with skinny stick drawing arms, mostly white but with a soft orangey brush texture that resembles hair or even a haystack. When they decide to be themself, they acquire a fabulous pair of star-shaped sunglasses, which also appear on the book's cover.

The general message of the book is a fun little antidote to all the saccharine "you can do anything!" books out there, and reminds me of playing make believe with my toddler nephew. "Maybe you're a tiger or a bird" sorts of play would be met with the confident response "No, I'm Wade!" Sure, Blob could be anything - and there are so many amazing things to become, it's hard to choose! - but whatever they are, they're still Blob.

Anyone who has gone against the expectations of their grownups to forge their own identities will surely find commonality with Blob. The book demonstrates how others often have limited ideas of what it's possible to become, and in doing so ignore the individual's own wishes. But isn't that just like girls only being shown nurturing career options, and boys only the destructive ones? Blob reassures the reader and narrator that even if they don't follow the suggested, expected paths, and even if they want to use a different name, they're still the same person as before.

But also, and in summary, Blob's story can be read as representing trans and non-binary people, so perhaps it should be provided with gender affirmation care, the way Dr. Seuss's "O the Places You Will Go!" is given out at every school graduation.… (más)