Title: Maybe Something Beautiful
Author: F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell
Illustrator: Rafael López
Ages: 1-6
Synopsis: A small bit of sunshine from a young girl completely transforms a neighborhood.
The Lowdown:
During February Bug and I were working on how to spread love and kindness in our community. We cleaned the graffiti off our neighborhood little library (who does that?!), reorganized the books, and Bug passed out homemade treats to people on the way to and from school. It was a great exercise but creating the kind of change we’d like to see in our neighborhood takes a LOT of work. It’s a bit daunting but books like Maybe Something Beautiful offer the ever-needed encouragement that keeps us going.
The main character, Mira, that leads readers through this book is introduced as a font of hope and possibility. She stands out in a city that is gray and bleak. On her way to school one day she hands out pictures to her neighbors and hangs a sun on a wall. This inspires a muralist to begin painting on the building the next day. The girl helps him and soon all the neighbors join in. The book ends colorful, changed, and with the still present thought of how can I still make this better?
López embraces a mixed media expression through all the book that gives it an extra bit of depth. It also gives the murals an extra pop through the contrast of colors and medium. It’s engaging and takes readers along on the journey with the neighborhood, as the book transforms into an expression of color and hope.
That’s the main message that we’ve taken away from this story. That a small bit of hope and determination can turn a community around. We still have more ideas to enact and discover but the type of neighborhood we want to live in is one full of joy and hope. Maybe Something Beautiful makes that hope accessible to readers and spreads its message with joy as colorful as its pages.
Story Tips:
- Find your own way to make your community beautiful. Bug doesn’t like to give out his artwork but he liked this idea so we brainstormed until he decided on something he felt fit.
I need more!
Our other favorite from Rafeal López is The Day You Begin. His colors and illustrative style just really bring stories with a message to life. I also would love to check out Dancing Hands. For more info: https://rafaellopez.com/books/
Holy Smokes! F. Isabel Campoy has a list of books a mile long. Some in English some in Spanish. For the full list: https://isabelcampoy.com/category/childrens-books/
Theresa Howell has more books available as well including a series about Scout Moore which looks pretty cute. Her website is: https://www.theresahowell.com/books
