"Uncle flies me away
from all the things that
don't feel right ...
until I land in an office chair where
I once taped a sign with my name on it.
TOBY'S CHAIR.
Uncle never moved that."
Toby and his mom are shopping for gifts for his father and his uncle. As he searches the sock display, he finds it easy to find the right pair for his uncle, and not so easy to choose a pair for his dad. His dad is 'hard to please'. While wrapping his father's birthday present, he hopes he will acknowledge it with love. When that doesn't happen, his mom suggests that he take the socks he got for his uncle down to his garage.
Despite some of the not right things he sees on the way through his neighborhood (broken glass, a long- neglected playground project), Toby is thrilled to see everyone at EL TIO AUTO REPAIR, especially Uncle. The feeling is mutual. Uncle scoops Toby up, deposits him in his own chair while Toby takes time to notice the many reminders of days he spent with Uncle. Uncle loves the socks! Really???
"'Come here, little man." He hugs me off my feet.
"Your just made my day. Best gift ever."
"But you don't even know if they fit," I say.
Uncle smiles. "It's from YOU. You the gift.
You more than enough. These socks? They extra.""
Talk about feeling JUST RIGHT.
Teresa Martinez matches every feeling felt by Toby at every turn. It's easy for young readers to see when things don't feel right, and then the enthusiasm and love felt when they do! It's so important for kids to see themselves valued and her digital artwork is testament to that.
In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Torrey Maldanado had this to say about his first picture book:
The story comes straight from my own childhood. Toby’s dad is my dad. I called him my “summa time dad”—sometimes he was there. And like Toby, the boy in the book, I had people who were there for me, and who saw me as family. So many people say, “Hey, nephew” to me ... I think about what Maya Angelou said, “Be a rainbow in somebody’s cloud,” and I want to remember the rainbows of my life.
... There’s so much goodness around us, and we need to preserve it. I hope that Just Right will spark conversations on how we need to be there for each other—and take action, too. I’d like my readers, and all of us, to ask ourselves every day, “What can I do to make someone feel just right?” and then do it!
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