Early Book Review: Pop! by Jason Carter Eaton, Matt Rockefeller

Pop! is a picturebook written by Jason Carter Eaton and illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. It is currently scheduled for release on July 3 2018. A quiet afternoon of blowing bubbles and popping them turns into a Planes, Trains, & Automobiles-style adventure, as our young protagonist Dewey struggles to pop that one last bubble, The Bubble That Got Away.

Pop! is a fun story about determination and imagination. I enjoyed Dewey's efforts to pop an elusive bubble, and the way the story took a lonely kid on a grand adventure. I really liked that Dewey showed the ability to entertain himself, determination to finish what he started, and the imagination to make the well loved task of blowing and popping bubbles. Dewey took something that is so basic to childhood, and made it his own grand adventure, when other kids might have spent the day watching television alone or pouting that there was no one to play with, or that others did not invite him to play with them. He did not get mad, he made his own fun, and enjoyed his day. The conclusion of long distance companionship in bubble popping added a little heart twist at the end. I thought the illustrations were lovely, and they had the soft, dream like quality that matched the theme and action of the story, while not being washed out or boring at any point.