Marvelous Maravilloso: Me and My Beautiful Family

PreS-Gr 1—A young girl explores the colors all around her. She admires the hues of the flowers, the sea, the trees surrounding her grandmother's house, and the colors of the city where her abuela lives. She admires the difference in the people around her, her mother, who is white like crema, and her father, who has brown skin like smooth leather. She thinks about her own color, which is like café con leche, and is a mezcla—a mix—of her mother and father. She shares with readers that all the different colors of the people of the world are part of diversity—diversidad—and that they all have beautiful families. Short, easy to read, poetic sentences accompany marvelous illustrations that cover every part of the pages. The topic of diversity and differences in skin color is touched upon with elegance and care, and one particular illustration, which depicts flowers in black-and-white, illustrates how without colors, everything (and everyone) would look the same. Ending pages illustrate the diversity of different families, and how this diversity is not only okay—it's maravilloso! A note to parents and caregivers discusses how children understand skin color and how best to discuss diversity and discrimination with children.