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THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN

Name: THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN
Author: Desirée Acevedo
ISBN: 978-84-18302-40-4

by Desirée Acevedo ; illustrated by Silvia Álvarez ; translated by Jon Brokenbrow ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2021

Well meaning but poorly executed.

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A young girl questions the labeling of a skin-colored pencil when the hue doesn’t represent herself or those around her.

While drawing at school, Vega is approached by her friend Alex. He asks to borrow her “skin-colored pencil.” This is a Spanish import, and many literal-minded young readers in the United States may be puzzled, as “flesh” has not been a Crayola color since 1962, when it was renamed “peach.” Nevertheless, they will understand how Alex’s request prompts Vega to question both the label and the concept of a universal skin color as she reflects on the skin tones of the people in her community. While each individual is depicted with a unique complexion, none embodies the “kind of light pink” that matches the skin-colored pencil. Both children wonder about the origins of the label since neither they nor the people in their community share that particular skin color. Vega, who presents White, posits that “the person who discovered it must have…forgot[ten] to add the rest of the colors.” This simplistic reasoning mischaracterizes the label as a harmless error, completely avoiding White supremacy, racism, and colorism as potential factors. Sidestepping these points diminishes the empowering message of inclusivity the book has tried to convey. Later, both children work together to create art with “all of the pencils and crayons and paints they thought could be ‘skin color,'” which includes six different shades but omits any dark brown ones.

Well meaning but poorly executed. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-84-18302-40-4

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Cuento de Luz

Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS

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THE DAY THE CRAYONS MADE FRIENDS

by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 3, 2025

Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees.

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After Duncan finds his crayons gone—yet again—letters arrive, detailing their adventures in friendship.

Eleven crayons send missives from their chosen spots throughout Duncan’s home (and one from his classroom). Red enjoys the thrill of extinguishing “pretend fires” with Duncan’s toy firetruck. White, so often dismissed as invisible, finds a new calling subbing in for the missing queen on the black-and-white chessboard. “Now everyone ALWAYS SEES ME!…(Well, half the time!)” Pink’s living the dream as a pastry chef helming the Breezy Bake Oven, “baking everything from little cupcakes…to…OTHER little cupcakes!” Teal, who’s hitched a ride to school in Duncan’s backpack, meets the crayons in the boy’s desk and writes, “Guess what? I HAVE A TWIN! How come you never told me?” Duncan wants to see his crayons and “meet their new friends.” A culminating dinner party assembles the crayons and their many guests: a table tennis ball, dog biscuits, a well-loved teddy bear, and more. The premise—personified crayons, away and back again—is well-trammeled territory by now, after over a dozen books and spinoffs, and Jeffers once more delivers his signature cartooning and hand-lettering. Though the pages lack the laugh-out-loud sight gags and side-splittingly funny asides of previous outings, readers—especially fans of the crayons’ previous outings—will enjoy checking in on their pals.

Quirky, familiar fun for series devotees. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 3, 2025

ISBN: 9780593622360

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LITTLE FREDDIE TWO PANTS
by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins

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HAPPY FATHER'S DAY FROM THE CRAYONS
by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

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HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY FROM THE CRAYONS
by Drew Daywalt ; illustrated by Oliver Jeffers

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)