Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  A boy struggles between forces of light and darkness in his life, starting with his feelings when his father leaves each day for work and when his mother gets sick and has to go away on his seventh birthday.  His father tells him to always “leave room for that rainbow to find you.  Broken is beautiful.”  The boy discovers the rainbow through music, but the magical feeling doesn’t last long.  He’s tempted into trouble by a group of friends known as the South Side Bandits, and before long they’re taking joy rides on the ice cream truck.  One day they decide to break into the rec center.  While his friends are trashing the place, the boy discovers a piano and sits down to play.  “The sounds became music, and the music changed into colors.  The rainbow had found him.  And then that feeling lasted forever.”  Includes an author’s note citing the influences of Maya Angelou, Robert Frost, and Quincy Jones on this story.  48 pages; grades K-3.

Pros:  Bryan Collier’s beautiful collage illustrations illuminate this story of a boy trying to find his way through difficult times.  I’m excited that I may actually get to meet Bryan Collier today at the Eric Carle Museum’s Collage Day!

Cons:  I found the story a little confusing, and I think that younger kids would definitely need some guidance to understand what’s going on.

June 25, 2022 at 03:46PM Janet Dawson