Brown Is Beautiful

This brilliant tapestry of browns may spark discussions about identity and nature.

In a lyrically narrated picture book that centers the titular color, Kelkar (Bindu's Bindis) follows intergenerational members of a brown-skinned family walking out-of-doors and beholding brown-hued elements of a changing landscape. Across the spreads, a line asserting a quality of the shade ("Brown is strong") is followed by a related observational rhyming line about the natural world ("Tiny ants lifting a weight/ Rumbling train transporting freight"). Though the lines don't always scan, it is through this lens that the family members--the child carrying a camera--encounter a wild mustang with a shimmering mane ("Brown is beautiful"), gnarled roots supporting a large tree ("Brown is stable"), a protective mama bear ("Brown is brave"), a striated canyon ("Brown is wonder"), and more. And as the trio returns home, where the child's apparent parents arrive with a new baby in tow, brown represents both loving family and "potential./ A new life crying out." In lustrous autumnal hues, debut illustrator Sofi's rich digital art captures a variety of natural landscapes via images both majestic and familiar, and ends with scrapbook pages from the family's outing. Back matter includes an author's note and scrapbooking directions. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Oct.)

A baby's homecoming is a reminder of the joy found in the color brown, a cozy -message that few readers will want to miss. -Lovely.