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Come, Read with Me

by Margriet Ruurs (text) & illus. by Christine Wei
Orca. May 2021. 32p. Tr $19.95. ISBN 9781459817876.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 1–An adult reads two children to sleep in this sweet and richly detailed picture book celebrating the art of reading and storytelling. As the grown-up reads, the children are transported into a variety of familiar stories (fairy tale landscapes, places where “spiders write words”). Fantastical spreads depict the children exploring magical lands, flying with dragons, visiting a gingerbread castle, and much more, with the story concluding with everyone asleep. One child presents as Black, while the other child and adult present as Asian. The storybook characters are of varied skin tones. Wei’s rich, complex mixed media illustrations make the story’s concept shine, totally capturing the magic of imagination, while Ruurs’s simple, rhythmic text pulls everything together.
VERDICT Recommended for soothing story hours or a shelf of bedtime favorites.
Reviewed by Kelsey Socha, ­Westfield ­Athenaeum, Westfield, MA , Apr 01, 2021

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