A talented boy learns to make space in the spotlight in the energetic picture book There's a Griffin on My Back . The encouraging picture book There's a Griffin on My Back is about the joy of discovering a hidden skill and the importance of making room for other people's talents. In Meredith Rusu's warm picture book There's a Griffin on My Back , a soccer-obsessed boy learns a lesson about respect and sharing. After an outstanding performance on the soccer field, Robby comes to the realization that he is channeling the power of his own personal griffin. Together, they dribble through supermarkets, kick the ball at home, and never stop practicing. When Robby's sister, Katie, takes the spotlight with her upcoming ballet recital, Robby feels left out. Afterward. Robby learns that there are ways to accommodate everyone's talents at the same time.

The story is clear, empathetic, and structured. Its use of rhyming quatrains and couplets. gives it a sense of movement and energy, too. The illustrations have a digital quality, and they are spread across the page in varying ways: Whole spreads are devoted to single images; elsewhere, pages include multiple illustrations of different events. These complex framings are matched by the expressive faces of the characters. Such nuanced shifts elevate the book's atmosphere. --Foreword Clarion Reviews.