Magnificent Homespun Brown: A Celebration

PreS-Gr 3—This book is a joyful ode to the color brown. Several brown girls are presented across the pages as they share how the hue is featured in their lives. In a repeating pattern, Doyon first describes each kind of brown (feathery, amber, radiant, cozy, thundering, etc.) with descriptions of time spent with family and friends, from cocoa-sipping winter days to peaceful hikes in the woods. Then she presents a simple simile: "Radiant brown...like my skin." The text itself is a poem which dances playfully on the tongue when read aloud, featuring just the right amount of alliteration, a wide range of unusual vocabulary, and vibrant imagery. Juanita's illustrations are a celebration of these girls, using all shades of brown and many warm colors on a light yellow background. She gives particular care to the details that make the girls seem very real: fun hair clips, bandage-adorned skin, and patterns on clothes. They are an active bunch, leaping into piles of leaves and pirouetting on roller blades. While all characters are brown, there is a diverse cast, including a family member who uses a wheelchair and several characters wearing hijab. VERDICT Whether this delightful book is a mirror or a window for a child, it is a must-read for its celebration of love for oneself and one's family.—Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA