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Review: Still Sal

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Still Sal
By Kevin Henkes
New York: Greenwillow Books, 2024. 248 pages.

Creative, thoughtful Sal is excited to start first grade. She hopes she will be in Ms. Flowers' class. Ms. Flowers is the new teacher at school. She wears interesting clothing and smells like strawberry jam. But Sal gets Ms. McCormick instead. Ms. McCormick is very practical all around, from her appearance to her classroom assignments and in her way of getting things done. Navigating this deep disappointment, a new haircut, and evolving friendships, Sal wonders which parts of us stay the same and which parts will change as we get older. Still Sal looks at the little things that feel very big and explores how good and bad are always mixed up together. 

Kevin Henkes returns to some ideas from his classic picture book Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse here - what it's like to yearn for a teacher's attention; the ways children can use their external selves to express their inner selves; the pitfalls of snazzy accessories. But even more importantly, Henkes continues to write carefully and compassionately about children - what they understand perfectly about the world and the things they cannot understand yet. 

This is an excellent piece of realistic fiction. I was brought back to specific thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations I experienced in early elementary school. A family with children of different ages could enjoy this very earnest, very true chapter book together as a read-aloud.
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