BEAUTIFUL YOU, BEAUTIFUL ME

A young Black girl worrying over the way she looks is comforted by her mother.

Izzy’s favorite place to be is snuggled up with her mama. But being so cozy and close, it’s hard not to notice all the ways that Izzy and Mama don’t match. Izzy’s skin is dark like chocolate, while Mama’s is lighter like sand. Izzy’s hair coils up in springy curls, but Mama’s hangs straight in a long, swaying braid. Izzy anxiously points out these differences, wishing she could look just like Mama, but Mama reassures her each time that while “not all mamas and babies match…they still belong to one another.” Spillett-Sumner’s quiet text strikes a steady rhythm of call and response: Izzy’s uncertainties and her mother’s answering refrain that celebrates rather than dismisses the pair’s differences. Perera’s illustrations play behind and between the beats, gently pulling readers into an intimate visual space and giving dimension to the safety and strength of the mother and daughter’s relationship. While Izzy is portrayed as Black and dark-skinned, Mama’s heritage is left open, though she is depicted as brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A lovely accompaniment to any cuddle.