Review by Kirkus Book Review
An all-are-welcome attitude brings sunshine to a drizzly day at the park. Zora is at the park, "soaring high on her favorite swing…when it begins to rain." As other children take cover, Zora discovers a pink polka-dotted umbrella beneath a bench. Though it's barely wide enough to shelter her, a tan-skinned youngster asks, "Is there room for one more?" "Sure!" Zora chirps as the umbrella grows to cover the newcomer. More youngsters show up. "Can we come under too?" "Come on in!" Zora replies, and the canopy expands to protect an array of gap-toothed kids, diverse in skin tone. When a gust carries it away, the children collaboratively make a game of finding it. Once the umbrella is retrieved, Zora, a brown-skinned girl with puff pigtails and turquoise glasses, stashes it away to be found by another child on another rainy day. Walker's watercolor and digital art captures the cheerful adventure with loose washes of bright colors unconstrained by thin-lined black outlines. With its minimal text and joyful palette, plus the absence of adults, this child-centered story particularly suits preschool community-building efforts. Though it treads familiar territory, it's sweetly executed and certain to engage. Read with Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates' similarly premisedThe Big Umbrella (2018) or Emily Ann Davidson and Momoko Abe'sThe Blue Umbrella (2023) for a magical rainy-day trifecta. A whimsical reminder that play is more fun when there's room for everyone.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
