Krosoczka gives credit to his grandparents and influential teachers, and even to his mom, in reproductions of actual letters and artwork she sent him at the time.
Still, the overall feel of the book is hopeful and uplifting. The grandparents, though loving, are boozers, and when the grandmother hits the sauce, she swears and engages in coarse name-calling. The mom is mostly absent - she became addicted as a young teen and is in and out of rehab, halfway houses, and jail. Though all is not bleak - Jarrett's grandparents take him in, provide stability, and encourage his talent as an artist - there's serious content. It's a frank but very moving memoir of growing up with a mom addicted to heroin. Krosoczka, author-illustrator of a host of very funny and imaginative middle grade and picture books, including the graphic novel series Lunch Lady, but the target age for this book is teens. Parents need to know that Hey, Kiddo is by Jarrett J. Grandparents pictured with cigarettes.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. Underage teens at party buy drinks, have fake ID.
For instance, when mom is pictured heating drugs up in spoon, about to shoot up with syringe, the art's superimposed over a heartrending letter she wrote to her parents saying only that she's "mixed up." Grandparents drink heavily, and grandmother gets verbally abusive under the influence. Much of the substance abuse content is handled in the art panels, not the text, softening it and ensuring readers aren't hammered with details they're not ready for. Mom was heroin addict, in and out of jail and rehab, and author's note reveals she eventually died of heroin overdose.
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