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naomiysl 's review for:
Breathing Makes It Better: A Book for Sad Days, Mad Days, Glad Days, and All the Feelings In-Between
by Christopher Willard, Wendy O'Leary
The sentiment is good, and I'm glad there is a diverse cast of characters BUT. The emotions that are solved by breathing break down in the images like so:
White girl: Sad
White boy: Anxious
Black boy: Lonely
Black boy: Angry
Black girl: Stupid
White girl: Scared
See the issue? Now it's not as terrible to show the black boy angry, because there is at least another option. But the only girl of color in the whole book is, looking at the picture, having trouble with her math homework. The text doesn't say she's stupid, but the implication is clear. This is a jarring note to find in what is clearly supposed to be a calming and affirming book.
White girl: Sad
White boy: Anxious
Black boy: Lonely
Black boy: Angry
Black girl: Stupid
White girl: Scared
See the issue? Now it's not as terrible to show the black boy angry, because there is at least another option. But the only girl of color in the whole book is, looking at the picture, having trouble with her math homework. The text doesn't say she's stupid, but the implication is clear. This is a jarring note to find in what is clearly supposed to be a calming and affirming book.