bookshelf

YOU ARE MY FAVORITE COLOR

Name: YOU ARE MY FAVORITE COLOR
Author: Gillian Sze
ISBN: 978-0-593-20310-1

by Gillian Sze ; illustrated by Niña Mata ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 7, 2022

Lovely.

bookshelf

A light-skinned caregiver shares with their children the wonder of their dark brown skin as the youngest grows from newborn to toddler.

“When you ask me why your skin is brown, / I will tell you that you are my favorite color.” The caregiver and a child welcome a new baby, and on the next page, the trio cuddle against a warm backdrop of family photos as the text continues, “I will say that your skin was decided long, / long ago. Time was just waiting for you.” Spread after spread shows the new baby growing and exploring their world with the older child by their side, and all the while, the text describes brawny bears, singing cellos, reaching sequoias, and more to prime the children’s understanding of their unique personal canvases. Sze’s text unspools a letter of love—a caregiver’s love and the self-love it inspires—as Mata’s illustrations combine gentle earth tones with vibrant, playful splashes to capture all the family adventures of a little one growing up. This is a sweet, languorous celebration of brown skin in all its infinite shades and of multiracial, multifaceted families. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Lovely. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: June 7, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-593-20310-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

- BOOK REVIEW
I DREW A HEART
by Gillian Sze ; illustrated by Naoko Stoop

- BOOK REVIEW
THE LITTLE GREEN ENVELOPE
by Gillian Sze ; illustrated by Claudine Crangle

- BOOK REVIEW
MY LOVE FOR YOU IS ALWAYS
by Gillian Sze ; illustrated by Michelle Lee

bookshelf

CARPENTER'S HELPER

by Sybil Rosen ; illustrated by Camille Garoche ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 16, 2021

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.

bookshelf

A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.

Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)

Pub Date: March 16, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random

Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

bookshelf

THE COOL BEAN MAKES A SPLASH

From the I Can Read! series

by Jory John ; illustrated by Pete Oswald ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2024

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind.

bookshelf

The cool beans again step up to do a timorous fellow legume a fava…this time at the pool.

Will a rash decision to tackle the multistory super-slide lead to another embarrassing watery fail for our shy protagonist? Nope, for up the stairs right behind comes a trio of cool beans, each a different type and color, all clad in nothing but dark shades. They make an offer: “It’s not as scary if you go with friends!” As the knobby nerd explains once the thrilling ride down is done, “They all realized that I just needed some encouragement and support.” Just to make sure that both cool and uncool readers get the message, the narrator lets us know that “there are plenty of kind folks who have my back. They’re always there when I need them.” The beany bonhomie doesn’t end at the bottom of the slide, with all gliding down to the shallow end of the pool (“3 INCHES. NO DIVING”) for a splashy finale. This latest early reader starring characters from John and Oswald’s immensely popular Food Group series will be a hit with fans. Fun accessories, such as a bean who rocks pink cat-eye frames, add some pizzazz to the chromatically and somatotypically varied cast.

Another quirky take on the series theme that it’s cool to be kind. (Easy reader. 5-7)