Pride has many meanings, but this warm and joyous board book focuses on the internal ones, even as it takes us to a more literal Pride celebration. “Pride is discovering. You can do marvelous things,” it begins, as we see a girl and her two dads in a park, where the girl is creating a chain of daisies. When the chain breaks, however, the dads remind their daughter (and readers) that it’s okay to make mistakes, and offer further gentle lessons about resilience, speaking up, and being kind. The girl finds another source of flowers and tries again, and she and her dads, wreathed in flower crowns, make their way to a Pride parade, full of celebration and love. “You make the world brighter just by being you,” the dads tell their child, and assure her that she always deserves it.
I love that this book for the very youngest readers focuses on the meaning and feelings of Pride, simplified for the age group, but still impactful. It doesn’t try to do too much, and therefore does what it does very well. The illustrations by Nakul P. are lush and lovely, moving from the greens, blues, and browns of the park to the vibrant rainbow hues of the parade, and painting the main family and the diverse parade participants with warmth and happiness. Highly recommended.
The girl and one dad are White; the other dad has medium brown skin and straight, dark brown hair.
