Nine-year-old Louie is a normal kid who practices Taekwondo and loves his rescue-dog Baily. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s been carefully following all the British government’s rules, like wearing a mask and social distancing, but also wearing rubber gloves to avoid germs (except at school, where he’s not allowed). Germs are a bit scary to Louie, and there’s a voice in his head that tells him to do things like avoid the cracks on the stairway, or hold his breath every time he sees a number seven. He nicknames the voice “the Dictator” because he has no choice but to listen or bad things will happen.
Lisa Bournelis’s LOUIE AND THE DICTATOR focuses on Louie discovering that he has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and learning how to live with it. He opens up about the Dictator to his parents who are supportive and take him to see a doctor, who they call a ‘mind wizard’, to help Louie fight back against the Dictator. Mental health is confusing and scary enough for adults, so by breaking down the subject in a way that children can understand — like making the doctor a magical wizard — shows that adults are there to help with the right ‘tools’ and equip children with the ‘armor’ and ‘spells’ needed to tackle the bad voices in Louie’s head. Louie’s dog Baily jumps in and out of the story at pivotal moments and provides immense joy. Baily is anxious like Louie and is depicted by Bournelis in a handful of full page black-and-white illustrations that perfectly capture his character.
Inspired by Bournelis’ son’s struggles with OCD, LOUIE AND THE DICTATOR is an important story for younger readers who have experienced mental health difficulties during the pandemic, or to understand and empathize with others who have. It may also encourage readers to speak up about their own struggles. Conversations in the story give adults and teachers alike talking points about how OCD does not make children ‘sick, bad or abnormal’, and highlights the importance of differentiating between ‘normal worries’ and ‘worries that need help’.
LOUIE AND THE DICTATOR is an impactful and heartwarming story about a boy learning to live with OCD during the COVID-19 pandemic that empowers younger readers to talk about their mental health, making it perfect for a bedtime read or group read-aloud session.
~Rebecca Holland for IndieReader