New York Times/New York Public Library 2023 Children's Best Illustrated Books
Follow the story of a child from babyhood to parenthood in this moving book about family connections, time, and opposites—a lyrical classic in the making from the acclaimed illustrator of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dragons Love Tacos.
Ava’s world is full of opposites: colorful sneakers on a gray sidewalk, thick books made up of thin sheets of paper, and dreams of huge spaces in her small head. Together, these opposites depict a full and impactful life, as Ava moves from girl to student to scientist, from daughter to mother to grandmother. While years pass and some things change, there is even more that is constant in this visually rich, soothing portrait of family connection through the generations.
You'll want to cozy up and read this touching, beautiful book together with the children in your life. And as a celebration of personal and family milestones, it's a perfect gift for baby showers and graduations.---from the publisher
48 pages 978-0593461976 Ages 4-7
Keywords: growing up, childhood, new experiences, coming of age, graduation gift, family life, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old
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Employing a quiet, unadorned narrative voice and softly burnished colored pencil illustrations, Salmieri (High Five) muses about how life is made up of paradoxes and opposites. “In a dark sky floats a blue planet,” the book begins, showing a swirling Earth against a starless expanse.
Somewhere on that planet is a child: “a small person in a big chair” who eats “squishy oatmeal in a hard bowl.” Each page turn moves the maturing primary character, portrayed with black hair and tan skin, and always shown in a green shirt, further on in time. In closely observed, tableau-like spreads, the figure, whose “small head” has “vivid dreams of vast spaces,” becomes a school-age child, then a diligent college student and a scientist, then a doting parent (“squishy oatmeal in a hard bowl” appears for another child) and, eventually, a grandparent holding “an old photo in a new frame/... of a small person in a big chair.”
This intergenerational portrait slowly suggests the way moments can provide anchors and recur—it’s a “whoa” kind of idea pitched at just the right level for the target audience. Illustrations portray people of varying skin tones within the family and across metropolitan scenes. Ages 4–7. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (June)
