Weird and wonderful you

Rhythmic verse and frolicsome artwork encourage readers to "stay weird,/ stay wild,/ stay wonderful... stay you" in this irrepressibly upbeat book. Avant-garde's first-person-plural lines build from proclamations ("We are the weird.// The wonderfully weird, that is") that offer a fortifying mixture of cheering words and examples ("I peel my bananas from the/ bottom up and sometimes read/ hanging upside down"). Yangni's scribbly mixed-media collages offer a vivacious energy that's fully on display in scenes of figures, depicted with varied abilities and skin tones, joyously engaging in active and creative pursuits: confetti shoots from the instruments of a brass ensemble, a briefcase-toting figure rides a unicycle, and a group of adults and children together make a dragon-like puppet for a parade. Meanwhile, confident assertions insistently paint authenticity as something to be celebrated: "We are world changers!/You and me?/Together, our differences make/ a perfect melody." Sprinkled throughout, quotes from figures including Maya Angelou, Beyoncé, Jon Bon Jovi, and Dolly Parton reinforce the book's message. Ages 3--7. (July)

Equal parts affirmation and call to action, this picture book from 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee champ Avant-garde encourages readers to celebrate the weirdness all around. "We are perfectly weird and weirdly perfect," says Avant-garde. She urges youngsters to challenge the status quo, stand out, and be themselves. That might look like peeling bananas from the bottom up, knowing the name for the smell of the earth after it rains (it'spetrichor), wearing butterfly wings, or simply taking up space. Tidbits of uplifting text bounce across each page, sprinkled with inspiring quotes from powerful figures who have marched to the beat of their own drums, from Dolly Parton to Mae Jemison. Both the quotes and Avant-garde's prose serve to motivate young readers, though the ideas and themes are meandering, with little narrative throughline. Kids will revel in the book's fresh, wildly colorful art, though the images aren't always reflective of the text. Yangni's layered, dynamic illustrations provide a paint-splotched visual feast. Characters who vary in skin color, body type, ability, and more, and from many walks of life, strut across swirling rainbows and through surreal landscapes, eagerly showing off what makes them different. A joyous, wandering book of affirmations for the wonderful weirdo inside each of us.(Picture book. 5-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.