Logan doesn’t communicate like most kids. He’s got an assistive talking tablet and he uses sign language, but even then he can’t always 
make himself understood. His feelings are hard to parse through and all of the stimulation he’s getting from the outside can just be too much.
But that’s on the outside. On the inside, Logan becomes ThunderBoom, a fearless superhero. ThunderBoom is brave. ThunderBoom is focused. ThunderBoom still uses his hands to communicate and with them he makes himself heard.
ThunderBoom, a new graphic from Jack Briglio and Claudia Dávila, follows Logan as he and his family go to a parade. With a different kid, this would be a pretty standard, every day event, but nothing is standard for ThunderBoom. With ThunderBoom there are ninjas and creepy monsters and Santa. Logan gets separated from his family, but by relying on himself and ThunderBoom he’s able to help himself and a new friend get home safely.
Briglio is doing some very interesting things with this children’s graphic. The perspective switches from a general third person -where we see how stressed and frustrated Logan’s parents are and how much they infantilize Logan- to a much more internal perspective with Logan’s thoughts coming through clearly and concisely. It’s this second perspective where the reader meets ThunderBoom and sees the rich, bold world of Logan’s imagination. Regardless of the perspective, Logan is placed at the center of the story with other characters moving and acting in relation to him.
Logan’s parents aren’t shown as bad or neglectful, but they do seem tense and hover over Logan’s interactions. It would be unfair to say that they treat Logan like a burden, but the challenges of raising a child with different needs is clearly taking its toll. Only his sister seems to believe that Logan is capable. The change of perspective only highlights how much Logan stands out in his world and what a help ThunderBoom is for him. Dávila’s digital illustrations have a soft, roundness to them that’s reminiscent of comic stripe art, a style that matches the short chapters that Briglio breaks the story down into and would appeal to the target reader.
I don’t usually bring the author’s intent into a review, but for this book it’s pretty important. We learn in an author’s note, that ThunderBoom was written for Briglio’s son Lucas who has the genetic disorder Angelman syndrome. While the text never says it outright, Logan portrays a lot of the symptoms Briglio describes for Angelman. Briglio’s stated goal was to show that kids, regardless of their needs “all want the same thing: a happy ending.”
Even before getting to the note, this was a beautiful graphic that showed a kid with alternative communication needs finding ways to interact with his world while still being himself. With the note and with the implication that Logan’s parents are stand-ins for Briglio himself, the graphic has an even deeper impact. The parents are not shown as monsters or martyrs, but they just don’t see how much Logan can do. The honesty and directness in this is really unexpected and wonderful to see.
ThunderBoom is a lovely, authentic depiction of a child who interacts with the world differently and reminds readers that just because someone has a hard time making people understand them, that doesn’t mean they don’t have things to say.
ThunderBoom
By Jack Briglio
Art by Claudia Davila
Kids Can Press, 2023
ISBN: 9781525304965
Company Age Rating: 9-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Easy Readers (5-9)
Character Representation: Disability, Anxiety
