Lovely

"What is lovely?" asks newcomer Hong at the outset of a book that celebrates seeing the beauty in everyone. She answers her own question by introducing a cavalcade of individuals young and old, with an emphasis on individual. "Lovely is different," she writes as a girl with heterochromia looks at herself in the mirror. A young white woman in a goth ensemble represents "black," while a brown-skinned woman with flowing white hair and a garland of flowers signifies "white." Other opposite pairs include "soft" (a baby clutching a stuffed bear) and "sharp" (an elderly woman with lavender hair, a nose ring, and a spike-covered leather jacket), and spreads featuring arms and legs showcase bodies with tattoos, freckles, vitiligo, and prosthetic limbs. Hong's digital cartooning is clean and bright, and her portraits casually reflect a diversity of ages, skin colors, abilities, occupations, and family types; a mixed-race gay couple stands opposite a brown-skinned woman carrying her son on her shoulders. It's easy to see beauty in people simply being themselves in these pages, a clear, direct message that readers can carry into their lives. Ages 4-up. (Oct.)

PreS-Gr 2--What is lovely? That is the question that starts off Hong's adorable picture book. Each page offers an assortment of unique individuals, people of different sizes and shapes with varying hair colors, ages, and skin tones. The final page, which includes a woman scientist, a ballerina with purple hair, a man with a goatee and mustache in a dress and heels, small children, a chef with large thighs, a man with a dog, and many others says it precisely: "We are all...Lovely." With minimal text, the digital illustrations carry this book with their bright and bold representation of a diverse set of individuals. Hong subtly gives representation to vitiligo and freckles in an illustration of arms and hands, and includes the prosthetic leg of a soccer player side by side with a hairy leg in heels. VERDICT This clever book would work perfectly paired with Todd Parr's Be Who You Are in a storytime about inclusion and acceptance. While not a must purchase this book is certainly a lovely addition to larger collections.--Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT