I love David Catrow's illustrations, and he has created an exuberant main character to accompany the text of this book. Turner's rhyming text calls to mind the phrases of Happy Birthday to You by Dr. Seuss. Both authors emphasize the unique nature of each child. Seuss - "There is no one alive who is you-er than you." Turner - "you're perfectly crafted one of a kind." But as you can see from the title, Turner has a more spiritual thrust to his message. He pulls in details about every strand of hair and how "God was thinking of you long before your debut" that allude to lines from the Bible about how well the Creator knows each of us even before we are born.
As the text speaks of how God hopes we will become "A dreamer who dreams in big and small themes, one who keeps dreaming in journeys upstream," we see the child helping out an artist in the park and her paintings full of vivid colors coming to life. While the colors spread across the pages, the words hold out hope that a child can grow up to be one "who views others as sisters and brothers." In a time when people are asking for more understanding and rallying around efforts like "We need diverse books," this it the type of story that we need.
This would make a wonderful gift for a baby shower or a birthday present for a young reader. The affirmation of each child's worth and potential, the joyful explosions of color, and the happy rhymes are a difficult combination to resist.
As the text speaks of how God hopes we will become "A dreamer who dreams in big and small themes, one who keeps dreaming in journeys upstream," we see the child helping out an artist in the park and her paintings full of vivid colors coming to life. While the colors spread across the pages, the words hold out hope that a child can grow up to be one "who views others as sisters and brothers." In a time when people are asking for more understanding and rallying around efforts like "We need diverse books," this it the type of story that we need.
This would make a wonderful gift for a baby shower or a birthday present for a young reader. The affirmation of each child's worth and potential, the joyful explosions of color, and the happy rhymes are a difficult combination to resist.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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