Bored
Written and Illustrated by Felicita Sala
A #1 Kids Indie Next Pick
★ "Boredom can feel unbearable. And yet, riding its wave can be fuel for some of the most fantastic and creative adventures! . . . Sala perfectly captures the intolerable nature of boredom and how, when left uninterrupted, it can be a portal to infinite possibilities. Her concise writing allows for soft, whimsical, watercolorlike illustrations to fill the page with effect. As Rita’s imagination grows, so does Sala’s palette, replacing the white space of boredom with rainbow colors and full-bleed spreads of unknown worlds. A fantastic depiction of the upside of boredom—readers will easily relate to Rita’s desperation while feeling bored and feel inspired by the places that the feeling takes her." —School Library Journal, Starred Review
"[A[musingly imaginative picture book portrait of childhood ennui. [Rita is] sprawled across a pile of pillows, dark hair fanned like a languid pre-Raphaelite heroine’s. . . . [T]he isle transforms the group’s malaise into deep creativity. . . . Sala’s relaxed, expressive mark-making in earthy, textured watercolor and gouache is spot-on for a story about being at loose ends—one that might just convince readers to hang in there when boredom hits. Who knows where a mundane moment may take them?" —Publishers Weekly
"Boredom has its day in the sun when one girl falls prey to its sway. . . . Sala truly remembers the all-encompassing crush of tedium that kids experience—and the lengths to which they’ll go to make their status known. The sheer physicality of the book is a key to its delight; this is ideal reading for kids who claim to suffer the same malady. Human forms are infinitely flexible, sometimes wiggly or flopped in impossible positions. . . . A clever reminder that from great boredom comes great invention." —Kirkus Reviews
"Sala breathes new life into this familiar tale with playful artwork and off-kilter humor. . . . Sala comically captures Rita’s efforts in her exaggerated body language. . . . Sala excels at depicting both the mercurial emotional energy of children and their delightfully unexpected flights of fancy in expressionistic artwork blending surprising pops of bright color and whimsical, elastic figure designs. Boredom is a feeling just about any kid can relate to, and Rita’s strange but captivating daydreams make a compelling case for spending time in one’s own imagination." —Booklist
"What starts as a child’s melodramatic apathy quickly turns into a vivid and humorous day full of imagination in Sala’s picture book. The muted, neutral watercolor backgrounds and Rita’s sluggish, squiggly body language perfectly convey her ennui, as she slithers and slumps on household items and furniture, and later the passengers squished into a red two-tier bus have the same restless energy with wide exaggerated mouths and squinting eyelids. . . . [C]haotically creative. . . . Taking a page from Rita’s book, readers will be dazzled by where their silly and limitless imagination can take them to cure their boring days." —The Bulletin
"Felicita Sala’s wonderfully elastic watercolors give playful shape to Rita’s ennui. . . . Things take a decidedly unboring turn when Rita begins to imagine what would happen if she and all the world’s bored people met up. Ms. Sala has a knack for describing the almost physical discomfort of deep boredom." —The Wall Street Journal
"Sala’s “Bored” is a marvel of wit, wonder and psychological insight. Her soft and lumpy illustrations expand with Rita’s imagination. . . . The author never does anything as clunky as explain that long periods of idle time can spark wild bouts of creativity, but even the youngest readers will enjoy seeing that theme float up from these pages in goofily surreal images." —The Washington Post