Review by Booklist Review
This ode to Puerto Rican culture and Black pride opens as Beauty's parents prepare for her birth. More than anything, they want their daughter to be safe and loved, so once she is born, they surround her with family and their rich culture. They teach her to become bilingual in English and Spanish and they participate in the Puerto Rican Day parade while Beauty is still too little to march. As Beauty grows older, the self-confidence she was raised to feel takes a hit as she becomes aware of the hate and racism in the world around her. Quickly, her family and neighbors rally, surrounding the girl with positivity, love, and stories of her Taíno and African heritage. They remind her that "Spanish is magic . . . / Black is beauty-ful. / Black is a power." Through these experiences, Beauty's pride and confidence in being a Boricua are restored with even greater understanding; the girl is woke. Escobar, who illustrated Anika Aldamuy Denise's acclaimed Planting Stories (2019), uses influences from graffiti and mural art in this book's illustrations, a perfect nod to the story's urban landscape. Her use of color taps into the story's emotions, and the Puerto Rican flag is woven through much of the artwork. An authentic and affirming celebration of culture, community, and self-acceptance.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Baby Beauty's arrival into the world begins in the womb, "First there is one heart, / then two." With a metered, lyrical cadence, Ramos's text centers on the collective, enumerating how the kinship family -- from la doctora, to the espiritista, to the community at the Puerto Rican Day Parade -- envelops Beauty and her immediate family in love. As she grows up, this kinship family transmits to Beauty an understanding of her Taino, African, and Boricua ancestral ties, a deep cultural knowledge that ignites "resistance, / imagination, / hope" in Beauty. This knowledge ultimately supports her when she encounters racist language aimed at "people that looked like family." Confused and hurt, Beauty runs through her neighborhood to process the emotions of "her heart brusin' / black and blue." Escobar's digital illustrations include neighborhood murals that incorporate Taino symbols with faces of children and elders as well as Black and Brown raised fists of resistance. The concluding subsequent spreads in luminous colorful palettes show Beauty's return home, where a healing ceremony empowers her to see the beauty of her heritage. (c) Copyright 2023. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
What is beauty? Who is Beauty? A puzzled young Boricua wants to know. Is it true what the media says? Are her people "DANGEROUS / DIRTY / LAZY"? What about the blood of her African ancestors that runs through her veins and that Abuela describes as "onyx"? Doesn't the pride of her Taíno heritage mean anything? Beauty sees her people marching proudly in parades. She hears Abuela teaching her the truth of her identity, but the reality of the outside world weighs her down, and she runs. Embarrassed, she doubts her worth and wonders why she can't be like everyone else, even rejecting her gold hoops and her durags adorned with the Puerto Rican flag: "¡QUÉ EMBARAZOSO!" Her family knows that Beauty is lost and that her "eyes were open, / but she was sleepwalkin'." Her Mami rallies the family for an emergency schooling session. Under the powerful hands of la bisabuela, vecinos, and familia, "Beauty was WOKE." Ramos' poetic ode to identity and validation winds itself through evocative imagery in both English and Spanish, connecting the strength of community with self-acceptance. From one-word stanzas echoing with a mother's heartbeat to flowing anthems of pride, each page exudes energy and passion. Escobar's powerful panorama of diversity is a blazing exclamation point to Beauty's triumphant journey. This bold manifesto of cultural awareness reaches out to awaken the sleepwalkers among us. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
