WOW.

My whole (reading) life, my mom has always advocated for protagonists who always do the right thing. Who are blameless role models. They always felt so stiff to me, unrealistic. I respected what my mom valued, but also struggled to emotionally connect to the same heroes that she did. While Isaiah Dunn isn’t perfect, I found him to be an incredibly admirable protagonist, and a fantastic example for readers young and old. This is not easy to do, but Kelly Baptist NAILS it.

Isaiah is so wholesome and goodhearted. He’s always seeking to serve others. Things aren’t easy, and Isaiah doesn’t have much to give, but he gives generously. I loved seeing the community come around him and his mom, and help them through such a hard time. It’s such a beautiful picture. Watching Isaiah made me really examine myself—how can I love and serve my mom like Isaiah did? How can I serve my community and provide for needs like Miz Rosa did?

Isaiah is so likable but not so “perfect” he’s fake. His friendship with Sneaky felt so authentic, and oh my goodness, his business with Angel definitely brought me back to my childhood. My sense of “play” as a kid was also trying to turn a profit—I remember my cousin and I even ran a brief “greeting card company” where I drew cards, and he sold them at school. We had contracts and everything.

This book is an ABSOLUTE recommend. It serves as a really great lens into poverty/homelessness in our country as well, and how it can be there right under our noses. If I was teaching in a middle school context, this would be the first book I’d add to my students’ required reading lists. Kelly Baptist is an incredible writer, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this E-ARC.

Isaiah’s father dies suddenly leaving Isaiah, his mom and little sister Charlie trying to find their way without him. Unable to keep up with living expenses, the family is forced to move into a motel and away from the comfort of supportive friends. Isaiah finds comfort and motivation in his dad’s notebooks of writing, his mom finds comfort in drinking.

Isaiah is forced to find different hustles to help his mom keep their life from spiraling out of control, but things are bigger than a young boy can handle.

With the help of a few good friends, supportive neighbors, kind people from the community, and the healing power of writing, Isaiah’s family is able to begin to heal their broken hearts and find their inner-hero in the process.

This is a beautiful, heartprint middle grade novel that I’m looking forward to sharing with students

Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Since his father died the previous year, all Isaiah has of him is his old writing notebook. With his mama still grieving - and drinking - she cannot hold down a job. Isaiah, his mom, and his little sister end up living in a hotel and then their car, while he works hard to keep up appearances at school. With the help of a barber and a librarian, he finds a channel for his grief, as well as his voice. Recommended for grades 4-6.

I’ll preface this by saying if you’re going to read this book be prepared to cry... a lot.

Isaiah Dunn is My Hero tells the story of a ten-year-old boy coping with the death of his father and the events his family goes through following this tragedy. Isaiah is such a great character and younger readers will relate to his perspective. He’s hardworking and ambitious, constantly trying to be an adult and help his mom while simultaneously dealing with all the drama and trials that come with being in 5th grade.

This story highlights the realities of the public education system and its many faults when it comes to supporting minority and economically disadvantaged students. This is a perspective that I believe a lot of students can relate to and especially having only one or two supportive adults to encourage them in their interests. While Isaiah isn’t always actively aware of the system around him, he definitely critiques it at certain points and thinks about the flaws, and eventually creates a solution to one of the issues. This is a great way to encourage younger readers to critique their school environment and inspire them to find ways to help make changes. It sends the message that their voice is important regardless of age and while I know that a lot of systemic problems can only be solved through government change, there’s always something a person can do at a local level to support their community.

Overall, I think Isaiah Dunn is My Hero is a fantastic story to include in a classroom because it not only highlights school-wide issues through the eyes of an adolescent, it also tackles some of the lesser mentioned issues such as homelessness, grief, and bullying. These are all very real issues that students deal with on a day to day basis and Kelly Baptist has created a story to intentionally represent adolescents who may feel overlooked by present-day media. Finally, Be sure to keep a box of tissues close by while reading because this story is full of emotional scenes.

Oh Isaiah Dunn, you are my hero. This book is so wonderful; I recommend it to everyone. Isaiah Dunn is trying to put his family back together after the death of his father. His mother is really struggling, so he tries to make money and take care of his family. His struggles were heartbreaking and very realistic. Isaiah is a character you will root for, as he finds his voice in writing.

Isaiah Dunn captured my heart, as he and his family faced tragic events with strength, resilience and community support.

There is a layer of sadness over the entire book; it doesn't detract from the story, but even when things are going right, there is still that sadness that comes with the death of a parent. Isaiah seems like a true character -- as he and his family try to adjust to his dad's death, he vacillates between anger, sadness and wanting things to be like normal. He has a lot of love and support in his life from the grown-ups around him as he tries to fill his dad's shoes. His mom's rough journey also adds a layer of truthfulness to the story. It was well written and heart-felt book.

This book is a tender look at family, grief, and the power of writing. I appreciate how Isaiah’s poetry matured as the story progressed, and the plot with his mom, despite the desperate ness of the situation, was handled in a way appropriate for MG. Some of the secondary relationships seemed underdeveloped once they were resolved, and a lot happens and changes really quickly. I love where it ended up.

I throughly enjoyed the short story, Beans and Rice Chronicles, in Flying Lessons and Other Stories and was so happy to read more about Isaiah. In this book, we follow Isaiah and his struggles after the death of his father. This book was written in a powerful, yet sensitive way that will be accessible to young readers. It touches on major topics in a real life way.

Isaiah’s father passed away just a few months ago, and his mother hasn’t really been the same since then. She drinks from bottles with the labels peeled off and since she quit her job, they have to live in a motel. Isaiah keeps getting into trouble at school and even though he used to love poetry, he can’t write a word anymore.

I loved this book from cover to cover. I am a fourth grade teacher, and I can’t wait to share this book with a class. It covers so many issues that I’ve known students to struggle with, issues that their peers would never even consider. Isaiah’s mom would at first glance just seem like an alcoholic who doesn’t take care of her kids, but she’s a complex character and Isaiah loves her. She’s grieving the loss of her husband and Isaiah is struggling with his own grief while trying to allow room for hers.

The characters in this book felt real. I especially liked Angel, one of Isaiah’s classmates, who I hope gets her own book!

CW: death, alcoholism, home displacement

I am shocked at how this book delicately and realistically handles heavy topics while still keeping the language and plotline light and accessible. I read this because most of the library patrons I work with read middle grade but I was not bored even though I am far from the target audience. Isaiah's coping skill of writing is so important to portray.

*I received an eARC copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Crown Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review in advance of publication.

Throughout the story, we follow Isaiah’s journey as he goes through major transitions. With the loss of his father, Isaiah is trying to adjust to a new normal. It’s a great story for encouraging empathy in young readers. Just because someone appears one way on the outside, doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot going on in their home life. Everyone has a story.

This book was so powerful. I feel like that’s such a strong word to use here but it truly was. I loved it.

Isaiah’s character development and growth over the course of this story was beautiful. I loved the honest portrayal of how our relationships with others affect us. This is a much needed novel in middle grade. There’s a high chance I’ll be getting this for my cousins once it’s officially out.

The fact that it addresses homelessness is really dope. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story quite like this one. It’s also really nice to see a Black boy on the cover of a story wearing a superhero cape.

Overall, a great read.

So touching and heart breaking. Great coming of age story for any middle grade/young adult group. Thank you so much for the advanced copy to the publisher and netgalley!

Whilst I am not the target audience (Middle/Elementary grade person) but this book touched me. I finished it in a day and was absolutely immersed in it!

The true heart of this book is Isaiah and I loved how hopeful and hardworking he is. His resilience, kindness, and pure drive were just so heartwarming to read about. I loved all the friendships and relationships. Every single character felt like they could be real people.

I will say the format left the story feeling disjointed and it did make the experience not as great as it could have been.

I would absolutely give this to my future child or any kid I knew who was going through a tough time.

3.5/5 stars from me as a teen but in terms of who this book is for it's a 4/5

This was a really good read! I plan on purchasing it for my 10-year-old. This is a great coming of age tale featuring a Black boy-which is rare. I loved how it showed how a parent's grief affects the children, how children really are stronger than we think, and how we work to connect to those we loved and lost. Great job!

I received an electronic ARC from Random House Children's Publishing through NetGalley.
Baptist captures the all too real environment for so many of our kids. Isaiah's dad died before the story opens and readers see how this family is coping. His mom has lost her way and is escaping grief through drinking. They lost their apartment and will end up homeless as the story unfolds. Isaiah escapes and tries to keep his dad close by reading the stories he wrote - including many where Isaiah is the superhero that saves the day. He's trying to do the same thing in his real life but at ten, it's way too much for him to cope with. He's also a writer but he creates poetry.
Readers see this family spiral downward and begin to make their way to healing and treatment.

Isaiah is 10 and dealing with a lot. His mom is grieving his dad so much that she's lost her job and now they are living in a motel. Isaiah is trying to help as much as he can by re-selling candy and working at a local barbershop, but it's hard. There are bullies and mean kids all around and although he's made peace with one of his enemies (and she turns out to be pretty nice), his mom is hitting bottom. Throughout the story, Isaiah's strength of character and strength of will offer kids a courageous hero. This story is terrific and so is Isaiah.

This book is a great coming of age tale about a boy who has the world on his shoulders. I give this book five stars hands down. This is such a heartbreaking and wonderful story that played on my emotions. Kelly Baptist wrote a survival story. You truly never know what someone else is going through unless you actually walk in their shoes.
We follow 9-year-old Isaiah as he tries to overcome the terrible hand he was dealt with after losing his father. Isaiah's mother takes the loss extremely hard and falls into a depressive state. While in this state his mother could not function properly and to be the mother Isiah and his sister needs. Isaiah steps up to be the parent figure his little sister needs. On top of losing his father to an accident and his mother to depression, they are living in a No-Tell motel. The motel smells like cigarettes and the smell seeps into Isaiah's clothes so he gets made fun of while at school.
The author captures the emotions and reactions most children would experience going through similar hardships. I loved how Isiah wanted to be a hero for his mother and sister. Although he loves his sister and mother he was happy to be able to leave for the weekend and be a child and hang out with his best friend.
This book covers friendships, bullying, alcoholism, and homelessness. Isaiah overcomes his bully by becoming friends once they were forced to talk to each other. During that time Isiah realized that he had a lot in common with the person. Sometimes just talking to a person you have differences with can change how you feel about a person.
When Isiah found his father's writing notebook and found a story about him written in there, Isiah knew what he needed to do. Isiah’s dad made him a superhero in his stories but Isiah knew he needed to be a superhero in real life too. I want to thank Crown Books for Young Readers/Penguin Random House via Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this story in advance.

I'm so glad I read this book. It's a great read that I would highly recommend for a middle grade audience. It deals with a lot of difficult topics but in a way that's understandable for that age range. Isaiah is such a great character and I loved following him. I also liked the family aspects of this book and there were also some great friendships. For me personally I would have loved if we delved a bit more into certain topics but I get why that wasn't done and I'm sure people who are actually in the age range of this book will love this.

There are no words to truly describe how much I loved this book. I don’t typically read middle grade but something about this book was calling my name and telling me that I needed to read it as soon as possible. I absolutely loved the poetry aspect of this book. I loved watching Isaiah’a relationship to his father’s poetry and his own poetry grows strong. I found the discuss on having a parent who suffers grief, mental illness, and alcoholism very accurate and significant. I didn’t think it shied away from the topic, nor did it oversell it for the younger readers. Finally, I was extremely drawn to the plot of homelessness and the support systems you can find in unexpected places. I will absolutely be recommending this book to young readers.