You Are My Favorite Color

PreS-Gr 2–As this gentle title opens, a mother (identified as such in the jacket flap but not in the text) and toddler welcome a new baby to the family. The mother has light peach skin while the children’s skin is brown, and the poetic text is framed in response to an unspoken question: “When you ask me why your skin is brown,/ I will tell you that you are my favorite color.” With each turn of the page, the children grow, dream, play, and spend time together as a family, and the speaker lovingly describes the many shades and qualities of brown she sees in them: “I see you in the sandy shore/ that the sea rushes to greet,/ and in the sequoia tree that/ reaches up and touches the sun. I will tell you how you have shades of color/ that only you can discover and express.” Mata’s digital illustrations complement Sze’s words beautifully; warm earth tones feature heavily, with joyful pops of color as the children explore the world around them.