Heart Takes the Lead

September 23, 2024
Characters Heart and Brain strive to achieve a balanced bond in Stuart’s push-and-pull story. Buoyant Heart, clad in a jaunty green hat, adores chocolate, fashion, and roller coasters, while controlling, bespectacled Brain prefers “lists, and broccoli, and safety rails, and never doing anything that people might laugh at.” Candy-colored panels present the pair’s relationship as a constant duel: when Heart wordlessly appears in scuba gear, Brain replies, “No. Too wet.” The conflict reaches a fever pitch when Heart’s desire—learning to play the trumpet—is quashed, Brain’s “no” causing Heart to fall silent and literally break. The gray panels that follow eventually turn sunny as the pair reach a tentative compromise, one that requires Brain to realize that when it comes to worries, it’s not always right. Reminiscent of Inside Out, this work offers an honest examination of why cool heads need not always prevail. Ages 4–6.