Review - Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood
by F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell
illustrated by Rafael López
Date: 2016
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book non-fiction
Pages: 40
Format: e-book
Source: library

What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray? As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine! Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is an interesting picture book based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego.

While I appreciate the story and the illustrations (they're vibrant and highly appealing), I'm a bit disappointed in the way this book doesn't address the legality of painting public spaces. Readers might be left with the impression that you can just go around painting walls, utility boxes, and benches wherever you like (when, in many places, you'd need permits... lest you be charged with vandalism). The result may be beautiful, but is it legal?

That said, if parents are willing to sit down and explain these things (and read the authors' note with their kids), this could be a good introduction to urban art. The illustrations are colourful and highlight the contrast between a world with art versus one without.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5

Review - The Day You Begin

The Day You Begin
by Jacqueline Woodson
illustrated by Rafael López
Date: 2018
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson and two-time Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Rafael López have teamed up to create a poignant, yet heartening book about finding courage to connect, even when you feel scared and alone.

There will be times when you walk into a room
and no one there is quite like you.

There are many reasons to feel different. Maybe it's how you look or talk, or where you're from; maybe it's what you eat, or something just as random. It's not easy to take those first steps into a place where nobody really knows you yet, but somehow you do it.

Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text and Rafael López's dazzling art reminds us that we all feel like outsiders sometimes-and how brave it is that we go forth anyway. And that sometimes, when we reach out and begin to share our stories, others will be happy to meet us halfway.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This sweet picture book pairs Jacqueline Woodson's lyrical text with Rafael López's stunning artwork to create a relatable story with a strong message.

Many kids will be able to find something to relate to here, whether it's being teased about an accent or an unusual name, being left out on the playground, having kids ask too many questions about your lunch, or even feeling like your summer was boring because you just stayed home (while all your friends went on exciting vacations). The book celebrates the uniqueness in all of us, while showing that we sometimes have more in common than we think. It also shows how differences can be strengths.

López's artwork--in a painterly sort of collage style--is beautiful and colourful, and the children portrayed come from a diverse array of backgrounds. It's a lovely book to look at.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Jacqueline Woodson has a way of writing that makes me feel like I can totally relate. I haven't read any of her other picture books yet (only Brown Girl Dreaming, her childhood memoir in verse), but after reading this I'm going to see if I can find some of them.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 4.17 out of 5