Boyogi: How a Wounded Family Learned to Heal

Young protagonist Butta Bean knows his father has been behaving differently since returning from deployment, but the child doesn’t have context for what reads as PTSD: “I thought he acted sad because of something I did. I thought my daddy didn’t love me anymore.” Explaining that “Daddy got sick overseas,” Butta Bean’s mother notes that “When Daddy was away, some bad things happened there.... We are lucky nothing happened to Daddy’s body. But those bad things harmed his mind.” After Mama takes Daddy and Butta Bean along to a yoga class at the local Y, the father-son duo doesn’t miss a day. Not only do their bodies and minds adjust, so too does the bond between father and son. Denmon’s digital illustrations juxtapose somber blues for difficult moments and golden tones for both the Black family’s warm memories and Daddy’s arc toward feeling “way better.” In conversational text that spotlights one family’s experience, Moore addresses an important but conceptual topic in a developmentally appropriate way. Ages 6–9. (Oct.)