FICTION

The Wheels on the Costume

by Cindy Jin (text) & ­illus. by Lauren Lowen
Little ­Simon. Jul. 2023. 12p. Board $8.99. ISBN 9781665937795.
COPY ISBN
Baby-Toddler–Cleverly titled, this board book illustrates a different child in a Halloween costume that incorporates their wheelchair on each spread. The children’s costumes are creative, and the incorporation of the wheels into the book, creating cut-outs, is enticing. However, it’s visually overloaded and clunky to read. The additional images on each spread, including pumpkins, spiders, candy, houses, and stars, crowd the spreads. The rhyming nature doesn’t always work; for one, “The wheels on the race car go zoom, zoom, zoom,” but for another, “The extraterrestrial comes to earth, comes to earth, comes to earth.” Those trying to sing the book may stumble over the clunky flow of the text.
VERDICT Libraries lacking inclusive representation in their collections, especially their board books, will want to buy; for everyone else, this is an additional purchase.
Reviewed by Shana Shea , Jun 01, 2023

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