Hopefully the Scarecrow

PreS-Gr 2–This is the story of an optimistic scarecrow who each summer is taken out of the shed by a young girl and placed in a flower-filled garden where he is read to. The girl’s stories sustain the scarecrow when he is alone during the winter. However, one year a different person removes him from the shed, and no one reads to him. The girl in the story is dark-haired with warm skin tones, and could be interpreted variously as Latinx, South Asian, or any of an array of identities. However, readers are more likely to identify with the scarecrow, who “knew he was created/ with loving hands” and continues to trust and hope in his friend, even when he doesn’t understand why things have changed. With the gentle pathos of an Oscar Wilde fairy tale but with a warm consoling ending, this tale is precise and poetic, with a lyrical cadence and deft imagery that makes it perfect for reading aloud. Young readers will enjoy inferring the reason for the girl’s absence, as well as the endearing misunderstanding behind the book’s title. The comforting tone of the story is perfectly matched by the cheery illustrations. Images are simply rendered in mixed media, with minimal lines, clear facial expressions, and a two-dimensional quality which creates a nostalgic collage-like effect. The color palette is distinctly vintage, with autumnal shades of orange dominating, offset by muted greens and blues.