THE IDEA IN YOU

Musician, producer, and music journalist Questlove offers encouragement for young dreamers.

“An idea can come from anywhere. Start here: Reach up into the sky and unhook a star.” As this work opens, a young child with dark skin and a large Afro gazes out the window at the night sky and finds inspiration for a newly formed idea. Each page includes suggestions for coming up with and honing an idea. “Look at it from one side. Look at it from the other side. Toss it, turn it, spin it, flip it upside down.” “It may need a little sweetness, or maybe some umami, building a depth of flavor.” The motivational text is paired with dark, otherworldly, mixed-media illustrations, rendered in acrylic paint, paper, collage, and pencil, which demonstrate the limitless potential of ideas. Together, the words and visuals offer readers opportunities to explore how to turn their thoughts into realities. While the book is stirring, it may go over youngsters’ heads; some references will leave little ones perplexed. The abstract nature of the instructions and illustrations make this work better suited for the audience the book is dedicated to: presumably older readers nurturing their inner child.

Poignant, though laced with truths more likely to resonate with adult readers.