Beautiful You, Beautiful Me

PreS-Gr 1–Amid loving interactions with her mother, Izzy suddenly begins to notice contrasts between their physical features—her skin is darker, Mama’s is lighter; her hair is curlier, Mama’s is straighter. Her startling realizations cause flickers of uncertainty. What do these differences mean for two people who share such a close connection? Fortunately, Mama answers this worry with an easy warmth: “You’re part of me,/ and I’m part of you./ I’m beautiful like me,/ and you’re beautiful like you.” Her gentle refrain, placing equal emphasis on their shared qualities and their unique traits, provides a welcome reassurance. Later, an afternoon walk brings many examples of different-looking mothers and children from nature: a white duck swimming with yellow ducklings, a red-breasted robin feeding gray chicks, a sandy cat caring for a litter of variegated kittens. The family depicted in the story mirrors Spillett-Sumner’s personal experience growing up with both Cree and Trinidadian ancestry. Though the story’s premise and structure rely on (however briefly) problematizing African American features, a final interaction somewhat mitigates the effect: Mama sweetly remarks on their different eye colors, allowing Izzy to take the role of empathetic listener. Perera’s engaging art sets the expressive mother-daughter duo amid bright indoor and outdoor environments, which give way to jubilant bursts of floral energy whenever they recite their tender mantra.