Happy in Our Skin

PreS—In this picture book for young children, Manushkin celebrates the different aspects of skin. It has many tones, from "cocoa brown," to "peaches and cream," and sometimes distinguishing features like freckles, birthmarks, or dimples. Skin "keeps the outsides out/and your insides in," scabs over wounds, tans in sun, and exhibits goose pimples in cold. While the brief rhyming text is occasionally strained, the large illustrations, executed in ink and pencil and digitally arranged, depict a mixed-race family as they interact with a delightful array of diverse babies, preschoolers, and their parents in their urban neighborhood. Adults kiss baby feet, hold little ones aloft, and snuggle with them. The park and neighborhood scenes include a girl in a wheelchair and Muslim and Orthodox Jewish families enjoying themselves outdoors. Among many humorous touches is a scene in which two youngsters display their paintings while readers see all the paint on the floor and walls and a dog streaking paint as it runs off with a brush. The story comes full circle, beginning with a baby, happy in its "brand-new" skin, and ending with parents and tired children, all "happy in [their] skin," coming home after celebrating with "bouquets of people" at a block party.