A PERSON CAN BE...

People can be complicated.

How can one be both “naughty and nice?” Or “unlucky and lucky” at the same time? Kokias poses various dichotomies, and Sookocheff portrays them with uncluttered simplicity. “Small and strong,” for example, is accompanied by an image of a tiny, determined, brown-skinned child pulling an overstuffed wagon down the street. “Brave and afraid” is paired with an illustration of a light-skinned youngster climbing a tree to retrieve a stuck kite. An opening spread with a wide-shot street view of houses introduces readers to a diverse group of children, seen in the windows or outside, as the narrator muses, “A person can be….” Ensuing pages zoom in on each of the characters. Sookocheff plants tiny clues to delight readers: A youngster releases a butterfly in the park, which is then seen flying in future spreads. Everything is interconnected, and the children end up meeting at a playground, each “different and… // the same.” Youngsters often have many emotions swirling around inside them—sometimes ones that contradict others; this lesson in apparent opposites shows them how complex human beings really are. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Simple and intricate.