BEIN' WITH YOU THIS WAY

An exuberant story in which a little girl invites others on the playground to join in celebrating their differences in appearance; as they slide and swing, play chess and checkers, examine nature, rollerblade, run, and play leap frog, they acknowledge that they have light or dark skin, curly hair or straight, eyes of blue or brown, and so on—which may be ``perfectly remarkably strange'' but is also ``delightful, simply out-of-sightful.'' The cheerful faces and colorful outdoor scenes in Bryant's vibrant paintings harmonize so well with the bouncy rapping that children will clamor for an immediate reread; a second time round could be a natural opening for discussions of physical differences, which in turn may lead to talk about other kinds of similarities and differences. (Picture book. 3-8)