K Is in Trouble

Gr 4-6–Across five short stories, readers follow the day-to-day adventures of a young boy named K. K is surrounded by adults who don’t seem to understand children—from what they eat for breakfast (certainly not “sardines swimming in oil”) to the accidents that can disrupt the best laid plans. In each chapter, K gets in trouble for something he didn’t do or that was out of his control, such as a search for his teacher’s missing glasses, leading to him being abandoned by his class at a train station. Clement’s use of soft colors, with an emphasis on browns and greys, creates a bleak setting that adds to the Kafka inspirations drizzled through each short tale. While most young readers won’t recognize the Kafka connections, they will recognize K’s inability to please the adults around him. The art is painted through a child’s eyes, with K surrounded by tall, endless file cabinets and spaces that just seem more empty and dire-seeming as time drags on. The strange humor and often advanced vocabulary, such as “interminable” and “intransigent,” will remind readers of Lemony Snicket.