I'm Busy

Written by Michael Ian Black

Illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

978-1-6659-1524-3

40 pp.

Ages 4–8

Releases February 24 2026 

 

Michael Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi's remarkable trio—a little girl, a pink flamingo, and a potato—from I'm Bored (2012), I'm Sad (2018), I'm Worried (2019), and I'm Sorry (2021) have returned, and now one of them is struggling with overcommitment and a lack of life balance. Together they've always helped each other through their issues. Can they help this time? And will there be a time when they can fit it in?

From I'm Busy, written by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Flamingo wants to play, but every time he asks his friend, the little girl with the darling yellow barrettes, if she wants to play superheroes or Hula-Hoop, she tells him that she's busy. She may be painting or coding or experimenting or practising her trumpet, but it's always something. And her reasoning? "I can't! School starts in two weeks and then I've only got twelve years before college applications are due!" (pg. 7) Yikes. This child has a lot on her mind and her calendar.

From I'm Busy, written by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Flamingo is very understanding, as is the droll Potato ("I can't read," he says when she shows them her calendar. [pg. 9]), but their questions about when she'll have time disquiet her. They try to help her slow down by watching the clouds, and that finally makes her realize that she needs to find balance to her dilemma. (FYI, a dilemma is not like a soufflé as Potato suggests.)

From I'm Busy, written by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

This little girl isn't just busy. She's also stressing because of that busyness. But with the help of her friends, making time for herself, and maybe some playing in the mud, she finds some balance in her life. And she finds it with humour, companionship, and uncommon wisdom. 

 

The humour is courtesy of American comedian (and actor and writer) Michael Ian Black who manages to make readers laugh while guiding them through common childhood dilemmas. Here, taking on more than she can handle is the result of uncertainty about her future and whether she can accomplish all that she feels she must. Though there are no adults in Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi's I'm books, I can't help but think that there are some adults in the little girl's life compounding her worries. (Mind you, she's already coding so all this could be a result of her own awareness of what she needs to do to be successful.) Her friends may be unusual, but with Flamingo's eagerness for play, and Potato's apparent inertia, Michael Ian Black has created a perfect trio of characters that children will appreciate, maybe even know, and from whom they can learn while laughing, right down to the last line.

 

But I'm Busy needs Debbie Ridpath Ohi's illustrations to bring the story to life. We know the book's characters through her art, as well as Michael Ian Black's voice, but she gives them the colour and shape and expression that makes them easily identifiable and wholly adored. There is never any question that this little girl is accomplished but frantic with busyness. Her eyes are focused, she has a strained or absent smile, and, when she's really anxious, there are despair lines around her eyes. Debbie Ridpath Ohi's artwork is so evocative that she can create deep emotions with just a few lines. (Look at Potato in the illustration below. With just two eyes and a mouth, it is evident that he is cringing at her trumpet playing.) Thanks to Debbie Ridpath Ohi's art, reading I'm Busy is a treat for the eyes as well as the spirit.

From I'm Busy, written by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Help young children find balance in their lives with some humour, extraordinary friends, and an abundance of colour and joy with a reading of I'm Busy. Then read the other I'm books in the series to help them understand their feelings and handle them with self-assurance, with or without a flamingo or a potato by their side.

 

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Read all five of the I'm books by Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi. After all, it's important to make time for the good things in life. 

 

I'm Bored (2012)

I'm Sad (2018)

I'm Worried (2019)

I'm Sorry (2021)

I'm Busy (2026)

 

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