Title: Just Leave Me Alone
Author: Nakesha Lowe Illustrated by Irene Olds
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 9781456726416
Pages: 16, Paperback
Genre: Children’s book
Reviewed by: Beth Adams, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Just Leave Me Alone is a children’s book by Nakesha Lowe written with a message to the parents more than to the kids. The message is very simple: Don’t smother your children with overly bearing love, discipline and authoritative control. Parenting is a skill of knowing how to loosen the ties with growing children, allowing them the necessary room to make their own decisions, and possibly their own mistakes.
Beautifully illustrated by Irene Olds, Just Leave Me Alone has many full page drawings of a family depicted with artfully comic mouse caricatures. It has a visual impact upon the reader that is certainly memorable. What I found most revealing is by the use of these imaginary characters, the emotions of each of them; the mother, father, little boy and his sibling are artistically highlighted by the drawing of their tails A tail is a very honest piece of body language, almost subliminally connected to the brain to reveal and convey emotions. In one drawing, the young boy, frustrated and being scolded to go off to his room has his tail between his legs, a submissive posture of compliance and shame. The straight angles of the mother’s tail show authoritative power and strength, while other tail gestures in drawings show curiosity, playfulness, and obedience.
The storyline is crisp and clear with simple sentences from the mind of the young boy wanting to be allowed the respect others of his age group are given while the love of his mother is overbearing and stifling. Being sent to his room for reasons he felt were unfair caused much conflict for the lad as he viewed other children playing outside. This resulted in his mentally drifting off into an imaginary jail. His only recourse to abate his sadness was to design a barrier for his protection, isolating himself further from his family by the creation of a “Do Not Disturb” sign which he taped to his door. By doing this, his rebellion to the rest of his family was noticed, as the theme of the story becomes self-evident.
When growing up, all children will make decisions; some right ones and some wrong ones. As parents, we can only hope they make more right ones than wrong ones. Just Leave Me Alone is a warning to families that love is not a leash, and good behavior needs to be rewarded. Protecting children is necessary at all times, but best achieved at a distance appropriate for the age of the child, allowing them the freedom to be kids. Youth is a very precious and valuable time to be enjoyed in life. These are the messages literally drawn to the reader’s attention.
Nakesha Lowe has compassionately written about a phenomenon not often talked about – one where parents desperately love and cling to their children, to the point of emotionally smothering them. The problem outlined here is not always well recognized by our society, but is clearly a very important topic and should be addressed more openly. Just Leave Me Alone is a wonderful children’s book that can help both the child and parents to handle this issue in a non-threatening fashion; allowing the reader to easily digest the message. I would highly recommend this book to adults who are too overprotective of their children.
Nakesha Lowe doesn’t mix her words as she writes to the mindset of young children, offering them a voice of reason to address their possible concern to their parents about being overburdened with parental love. By having this book in a child’s library, and reading it to them on many occasions, it will serve as a reminder to the parents about allowing “room” for the healthy growth of their children. Otherwise the parents may be shut out of their child’s “room.”
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