A boy struggles with reading but ultimately learns how to use art to express the stories he wants to tell. He happens to have two moms, but that is incidental to the story, a lovely bit of seamless inclusion. Part of the bestselling “The Questioneers” series that includes Ada Twist, Scientist, this volume focuses on a young Black boy named Aaron D. Slater, who grows up listening to his two moms’ songs and the books read to him by his three siblings. He loves stories and wants to write them himself, but at school, he struggles to read since “the words are just squiggles.” He focuses instead on drawing, but continues to have difficulty with school work. We see him withdraw into himself as he decides to “blend in” rather than stand out.
At the start of the next school year, however, a new teacher’s prompt to write a story inspires him—but he stumbles over reading it in front of the class. He finds his voice, however, and narrates the tale from his heart, imagining the pictures of the story as he tells it. He turns in a paper without words, though, and thinks he has not done the assignment properly—but the teacher thanks him for his beautiful story. This helps him realize he can tell stories in his own way, through his art.
His reading gets better, too, with the help of his teachers and moms, although “it’s still tough”—but Aaron’s discovery of how to express himself through pictures transforms his outlook and confidence. His teacher lets him decorate the school hallway with the magical flowers and dragon from his story, delighting the whole class.
An Author’s Note by Andrea Beaty mentions that Aaron is named after Aaron Douglas, a Black painter and muralist who was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. It also explains dyslexia and other common learning difficulties, noting that “Aaron’s dyslexia informs who he is, but it does not define who he is.” Illustrator David Roberts also shares, “As someone who struggled with reading and spelling (and still does), I quickly learned how to read and tell stories with pictures!”
Aaron is Black, as is one of his moms; the other has light brown skin and long dark hair. His three siblings have a range of skin tones; one reads as White, another Black, and another biracial. One sibling who reads as a boy also wears blue nail polish in one image.
Lyrical rhyming text, colorful, sketch-like illustrations, and a dyslexia-friendly font will likely make this appeal to a wide range of readers: those with learning differences like Aaron, their friends and classmates, aspiring artists, and anyone finding their own way to express themselves.
Also available in Spanish.
