Out march
I couldn't put a photo of the cover up.
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
This is a wonderful book. Shailey loves bedtime because it was when her father reads to her, but his new job interferes so she needs to find a new reader.
It’s great that Shailey and her father are people of color. The fact that the father could be a single parent is important as well. It’s wonderful that while the job is never detailed, the father is involved in something that requires books and electronics. With just these details the story does much in the way of representation.
When Shailey interviews various replacement readers, Johnson and Dawson get clever. The people interviewed are those from fairy tales (which appear to be Shailey’s favorite book), and they are diverse. Snow White is the traditional looking Snow White, the dwarves are mixed in terms of skin color and gender. Sleeping Beauty is a person of color as is Hook. The three little pigs are still pigs, but one is girl. It is a nice variety.
The use of the fairy tales allows Johnson and Dawson to get creative. The way each character applies fits the source story, and Shailey’s increasing response to the applicants – she keeps redrafting her help wanted sign – show the power of words and meaning.
It’s a wonderful book.
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