Salas, Laura Purdie. We Belong. Picture Book. Carlos Velez Aguilera, Illus. Carolrhoda, 03/2022. [32]pp. PLB $13.49. 978-1-5415-9913-0. HIGH ADDITIONAL. GRADES PRE-3.
A city neighborhood is the setting for this celebration of diversity and belonging, depicted using a rhyming text and colorful illustrations. The text has a pattern similar to that used by Dr. Seuss, and at times feels a little obvious: “Does the world call you Black? Does it say you are white? Whatever its color, your skin is just right.” Although the point is didactic, there will be times teachers and others will seek out this type of book to read aloud in their classrooms. The colored-pencil-and-digital media illustrations are colorful, showing people from various races and ethnicities, of different gender representation, with different types of hair and head coverings, and depicting different abilities including a blind person and people using wheelchairs.
Penny Peck, San Jose State University, iSchool