Picture Books

My Block Looks Like

Harper, J. (2024). My Block Looks Like. Penguin Young Readers Group.

The pictures in My Block Looks Like match the mood of the story. The narrative tells of a lively New York neighborhood from the POV of one of the kids who lives there. The pictures do an excellent job at illustrating the life and commotion that the text describes. 

The illustrations in this book do a majority of the narratives lifting. They do not distract from the text. You could get a very clear image of this story by only looking at the pictures, not even reading the text. 

The artist uses bold colors throughout the book. This choice amplifies the narrative of all the life that is happening in the neighborhood. They are used to compliment the lines of the drawings. Since the book walks us through a city street, lines are used to reflect the landscape. They are bold, and they express a lot of movement as the main character walks/struts/dances through New York. The colors and illustrations are generally bold and heavy; however, the shading of the illustrations is soft and blended. There is lots of texture in the illustrations whether it be in the characters or the setting. Clothing has varied shading to show movement and body position, there are shadows and depth in the settings/backgrounds.

The illustrations as well as the text in this book make a deliberate effort to portray modern depictions. Characters reflect what kids in the 2010s-2020s look like and walk you through modern life in this community. 

There is variety within the main culture depicted, showing characters with different hair textures and styles, as well as different skin tones. 

I think this book does a good job at celebrating the main characters' neighborhood and community, and sees it for the multi-dimensional place that it is. Per my review of this book, I do not think I would be embarrassed or offended if I were part of the community that it is about. 

This book really captures the idea of mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in children's literature. I think it would be a great book to share with a community that identifies with it, but also a great book to share with those who do not. It starts with an acknowledgment that the neighborhood we’re about to see is more than just what you see on TV or in the news, and it gives a different POV. This is what makes it a great window book, it has the opportunity to provide a different perspective to readers, for a more holistic image or understanding of the neighborhood it takes place in.  

Not He or She, I'm Me

Wild, A. M. (2023). Not He Or She, I'm Me. Henry Holt and Company (BYR).

The pictures in Not He or She, I’m Me, reflect the mood of the story. This story follows a nonbinary main character through their day, and celebrates the mundanity of living your life exactly as you are. The colors are bright and vibrant and translate the joy of the narrative. The pictures follow the textual statements. The illustrations do extend the text without distracting from it. 

The artist uses color to communicate the tone of the book. The book celebrates a nonbinary main character for living and expressing themselves as they are. This book is in full vibrant color, and reflects the happy and content feelings that the main character experiences throughout the book. The artist uses multiple mediums in their illustrations to create texture and depth. Lines are varied and add life and movement to the illustrations. 

The illustrations do a good job at avoiding stereotypes of nonbinary people. In my experience, nonbinary representation can still sometimes lean towards the feminine side. The depictions of the main character in this book are truly androgynous, which helps to communicate the message of the story, “not he or she, I’m me”.  

This book only depicts one explicitly nonbinary character, and does not assign names or pronouns to any of the other characters in it. As a result, it is hard to say whether or not there is homogeneous over-generalization happening. Per my review of the illustrations, there is a general diversity represented in the characters, with a variety of gender representations present. I do not think there is anything in this book that would embarrass or offend me. 

I think this is a book for everyone. It’s for people who identify as nonbinary, it’s for people who know nonbinary people or need help understanding it. Some people who are learning how to use they/them pronouns to refer to nonbinary people rather than as a plural pronoun can have a hard time integrating it into their vocabulary, or get tripped up on the semantics, and this book did a really beautiful job of modeling how to do that. I think it could be used with kids or adults who need to lay foundational understanding. 

Spanish Is the Language of My Family

Genhart, M. (2023). Spanish Is the Language of My Family. Holiday House.

The pictures do reflect the mood of this story. The story follows the main character (Manolo) as he prepares for and competes in his school’s Spanish Spelling Bee. The book goes back and forth between the present moment in Manolo’s preparation to learning about his Abuelas experience. The illustrations of the present day are bright, cheery, and light, whereas the illustrations of Abuela's experience of Spanish at school are darker, and more blue to reflect the narrative of each timeline. The illustrations reflect the textual statements and extend the story without distracting from it. The whole book is illustrated with vibrant color, which colors are used depends on the tone being communicated at any given point in the story. The illustrator uses more static lines that give the illusion of characters frozen in a scene rather than moving through it. The medium used for illustrations gives depth and texture, nothing is just one-tone.

The illustrations blend more traditional elements with more modern depictions of Spanish speaking cultures.

This book could benefit from greater variety within the cultural depiction. While it makes sense for the characters who are in the same family to be depicted similarly, there is room for more diversity among Manolo’s classmates.I do not think there is anything in this book that would embarrass or offend me if this was a group I identified. I think it does a good job sharing the history of a complicated subject and showing how far public education has come, while still leaving room to grow.

This would be a good book to share in multilingual communities, or schools that have bilingual programs. It would also be good for providing historical context in a social studies class. I would use this book with school aged kids.

Luli and the Language of Tea

Wang, A. (2022). Luli and the Language of Tea. Holiday House.

In Luli and the Language of Tea, the pictures do reflect the mood and text of the story. As the narrative shifts from the kids being alone, and illustrated to reflect loneliness, to the kids gathering together and sharing tea, the illustrations reflect this by showing happier dispositions on the kids' faces. The illustrations do extend the text without distracting from it, the layout of the book is such that the text and illustrations are integrated well and come together to express the narrative. 

Color is not necessarily used to reflect the shift in mood throughout the story. The illustrator used consistent colors throughout the book, without varying them to match the plot, the changes in the mood of characters is more visually queued through the illustration of facial expressions and body language. 

The illustrator does use lines effectively. The art in this book is very soft and child-like itself, which matches the tone of the story. With soft edges and curves, the lines are not static and invite natural movement. Texture is given through the medium which looks to be crayons and/or colored pencils. Due to this, the illustrations have variation, and even the most filled in pictures are not completely opaque, keeping things light. 

The illustrations recognize cultural diversity, while also highlighting that the kids are all just kids, even if they come from different places or speak different languages. Many different cultures are depicted in this book, and a note from the author at the back of the book explains that their focus was to bring together children from places where English is not one of the official languages. However, I think there is room for more diversity in the illustrations. 

Keeping in mind that I have not had the experience written about in this book, from my review of it, I do not think the depictions would make me feel embarrassed or offended if my own culture or experiences were in this book. Thinking about my experience as a second grade teacher with a high number of ELs in my class, I think this would be a great book for that environment. The depiction of the kids coming together and sharing in a common experience even if they can’t speak the same language demonstrates unity within diversity. 

See You Soon

Kaba, M. (2022). See You Soon. Haymarket Books.

The pictures do reflect the mood of the story. The main character experiences a range of emotions as she reflects on time spent with her mom through the lens of dropping her mom off at prison and life without her. The illustrations are expressive and use color and images to communicate the mood of the story. The illustrations go with the text, and do not conflict with it. The illustrations in this book extend the text without distracting from it. The illustrator gave each spread a border that is connected to the text or other pictures on the page, this helps move the narrative along and joins the words with the images. Color is used to communicate the changing tone and emotions experienced by the character. On the page where she says goodbye to her mom, there are bright warm colors underneath dark colors, like having a raincloud over your head and your heart. This is a really powerful illustration in the book, as it reflects how life events and circumstances can literally color your worldview. The illustrator uses soft lines with textures and variants in the shading of each picture. Characters have more static lines, especially when their whole body is shown, giving more of a frozen in space illusion rather than movement.

The illustrations avoid stereotypes by combining traditional Spanish styles in the clothing, with modern styles as well. Illustrating the characters in a variety of clothing helps to avoid the idea that people or communities are just one thing or look just one way. There are really only 3 characters in this story and they are all family. However, there is variety depicted in the representations of the characters in different generations. This helps to avoid over-generalizations.

I don’t think anything in this book would embarrass or offend me if I were part of the group that is depicted. Granted, I have not had this life experience, it seems like an accurate representation of what kids who have had it might experience.

This book strives to explain a sensitive and complicated topic in an age-appropriate way for children. Due to its sparing details about WHY her mom is going to jail, I think it would be suitable for younger readers, as I think the older you go the more questions kids are likely to have about that. This is another windows, sliding glass doors, and mirrors book. I would share it with people who have been in the same situation as the main character because that representation matters. I would also share it with those who have not had that experience, as it's probably more common than those not directly impacted realize, and an opportunity to build empathy and understanding.