Information you should know:

The Unstoppable Jamie is a brief Children’s Book about Disability and Differences.

It covers the journey of a young boy named Jamie who travels to New York to see a photo of himself taken at the Buddy Walk. An annual walk to support people with Down Syndrome each year. Jamie has Down Syndrome and uses his super gadgets to deal with the difficult journey.

Why did I read this?

I don’t think there is anyway I would have chosen this book if it wasn’t for this assignment. I almost never read children’s books and if I do it’s generally about specific topics I enjoy or to prepare for a story time. I am not a fan of superheroes in general and especially dislike their more straightforward representations. While I do consume media that feature main characters with disabilities, notably Atypical and Extraordinary Attorney Agent Woo, I struggle to think that a children’s book will have much for me to engage with or be excited by.

Review:

I will be discussing a couple of different aspects of the book in my review. The first is the illustrations. Next if the story serves as good representation. And finally the structure of the story.

Bright Colors

The books is illustrated beautifully, if in a style I don’t particularly care for. Each page is full of bright colors and smiles. Even in scenes that are scary for Jamie the colors bleed through and create a very positive feel. The people in the book are drawn to be very real. As in their bodies don’t have much bleed and the colors are well put together. This is in contrast to the environment they stand in, trees and flowers often are fuzzy with gradients of color, while the buildings and vehicles loom large and bleed into the rest of the scene. I think the illustrations match the feel of the book in creating a positive atmosphere.

Good Representation

I struggled to determine if the book served as a good piece of representation for people with Down Syndrome. Frankly I am still unsure even after googling and reading the opinions of others who have Down Syndrome or work with those with Down Syndrome. The tools that Jamie uses to deal with sensory issues are commonly used and do help so that’s a check in the books favor. Additionally having the book told through Jamie’s perspective humanizes those with Down Syndrome and shows both how they are different from myself and how they are similar. The culmination of the story is also great in this regard. Jamie finds that he has the power to cope with these issues not due to his cape, an external force, but through himself and the support of his family. Finally the notes at the end of the book have good educational content about Down Syndrome and how each person is unique. In all I think this is good representation and a good depiction of someone with Down Syndrome.

My struggles come from how boring the book is. We don’t get to see much about Jamie. I don’t know who he is a person, what he likes aside from super heroes, and what his general day to day is like. The Unstoppable Jamie does a good job of depicting what Down Syndrome is like but doesn’t personalize it to a single perspective making it difficult for me to enjoy it. I think this is fine as it is a picture book and there isn’t going to be much to sink your teeth into space wise. Choosing to focus on a generalized person may be a good choice here as a first introduction for children who don’t know someone with Down Syndrome in real life. As it encourages the reader to get to know them instead of make assumptions about them.

The Story

As I covered in the last paragraph I think the story is several lacking. Each section and piece of conflict is resolved immediately. No thread in the book lasts for longer than a full spread on the page. Instead we jump from location to location. The characterization of Jamie is also weak if existing at all. This is quite possibly a intentional choice but it left me wanting more of anything after I finished the book.

Final Review

I think the Unstoppable Jamie is a good piece of representation and would make for a great story when paired with some other lesson or real life story. I would recommend it if someone was looking for a story that covered diversity for those with Down Syndrome. Overall I would rate the book a 7/10. While it accomplishes what it sets it to do I would have liked to see more from it.

Reference: Givens, J. (2023). The unstoppable Jamie (C. Dawson, Illus.). Two Lions.