ursula upside down

When I did a 2021 book gift guide for the holidays, Corey R. Tabor’s Mel Fell featured as a must-buy picture book. It was a huge hit that year with my niblings, and when I saw that Tabor had a new title out at School Library Journal’s Picture Book Palooza, I bought a copy immediately. Ursula Upside Down is another flipped-script picture book with tons of charm. Young fans will request many, many storytimes and rereads of this title in years to come!

Ursula is a happy catfish, swimming through a shimmering river with weeds waving above and a sky full of scrumptious bugs below. 

Then one question turns her world upside down. 

Is left right? Is right wrong? Which way even is up? 

Children will love turning the book upside down and back again as they follow Ursula’s humorous journey to self-discovery.

 

Ursula lives a happy life, swimming through her world. The river reeds wave from above and sunbeams light the world from below. Until one day… another fish asks her if she knows she’s upside down?? This prompts a chaotic awakening – Ursula had no idea that she was living life differently than anyone else! Luckily, Vern the bat swoops in to help before tragedy can strike, and with a little bit of wisdom, Ursula realizes that she’s just fine, and her reality is right side up after all. 

Interactive art makes for a fun reading experience for both kids and adults – and while I’d like to say that art is the absolute standout of this title, the standout element is EVERYTHING. Tabor’s picture books are a perfect marriage of text, gorgeous illustrations, innovation and creativity. Hilarious asides and character choices enrich the text, and make for a fun and funny experience (the bugs and crawfish! lol). The story’s point, aside from pure entertainment? That a different viewpoint isn’t wrong simply because it’s different – in fact, the world is full of those who view things differently, and that’s okay. A valuable and evergreen lesson for kiddos and adults alike!

Tabor’s illustrations are a mixture of watercolor, pencil, crayon, and other media mixed digitally. Ursula’s underwater world is full of a variety of creatures, each lovingly depicted, amid a wash of blue-green watery layers. Animal features, while simple, nonetheless express emotion when something unexpected happens. My favorite detail was how Ursula’s whiskers mirrored her mental state – they added drama as the story progressed.

In all, Ursula Upside Down is an illustration-forward picture book with moments of hilarity, lifesaving, and friend-making, and interactive elements that will invite repeat reads.

 

Recommended for: read alouds, bed times, and storytimes with young ones ages 3+, and as a phenomenal gift for any book-loving household.