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Julie Van Elswyk has always been passionate about writing. After walking through her own child’s battle with cancer, she decided to begin a children’s series about life’s most influential moments.
A native of the Twin Cities, Julie lives in St. Paul, MN, with her husband and three children. Evan Meets Bucky Lee is Julie’s first book.
Kevin Cannon has illustrated several children’s books, most notably Ben and Lucy Play Pond Hockey (2010) and The Gluten Glitch (2012). Kevin has produced illustrations for The Village Voice, The Star Tribune, Vita.mn, and City Pages. He lives in Minneapolis, MN.
Reviewed by Samantha Gregory for Readers' Favorite
Evan Meets Bucky Lee by Julie Van Elswyk tells us the story of a boy called Evan who has no hair. It never grew. When he and his family move to a new area, he has high hopes of making some new friends. His optimism is squashed, however, when a boy named Bucky Lee makes fun of his appearance. Evan returns home upset and tells his mother what happened. She tells Evan that she feels sorry for Bucky because being different is okay. Evan perseveres and eventually makes friends with Bucky and the others. One day Bucky shows up with big thick glasses. Will Evan take the opportunity for revenge or will he tell Bucky he likes his glasses?
Julie Van Elswyk has created an entertaining story for kids in Evan Meets Bucky Lee. Most kids face being 'different' to their friends and sometimes they can get teased over it. This book shows us that if we keep being ourselves we can still make friends, and that it's better to be the bigger man as Evan demonstrates at the end when he decides to let it go and stay friends with Bucky. The illustrations were very good and colourful. They helped tell the story. I think that this book would do well with kids in the 6-10 age bracket and it would be a useful book for anyone moving to a new area. I think it will do very well in the market and will keep kids entertained while educating them at the same time.
