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Pink Is for Everybody!

by Ella Russell and Udayana Lugo (ill.)

left to right: Ella Russell and Udayana Lugo

Rainy days are a drag, especially when you’re stuck inside with nothing to do except listen to the pitter-patter on the window. This is the gloomy circumstance in which a group of wonderfully diverse friends – including one who uses a wheelchair – finds itself on the opening page of Pink Is for Everybody! by debut author Ella Russell and illustrator Udayana Lugo.

But when one of them spots a pink treasure chest filled with costumes in an adjoining room, what ensues is a celebration of self-expression that answers the question: What is pink for? “Pink is for buttons lining your front. It’s for a checkered shirt, a poufy skirt, and a pair of fuzzy socks.”

In a darling parade of unbridled imagination, the friends don one costume after another. Dressed as everything from an astronaut to a dancer to a firefighter to a detective, they break the binary expectations of gender in an inspirational ode to inclusion, acceptance, and diversity.

Alongside the text are Lugo’s vibrant full-page digital illustrations, which capture the exuberance of this group of friends having one heck of a good time. As she takes readers from one spread to the next, the joy in the children’s expressions becomes infectious, until the reader, too, is grinning from ear to ear. Her artwork effortlessly demonstrates the importance of creativity and respecting others. Young readers will also get a kick out of trying to spy the little mouse on each page. An added treat is the chance to guess what costume their furry friend may be sporting next.

This utterly delightful picture book teaches readers of all ages the importance of being who you are while also reminding them that pink is for everybody – unless, of course, you’re a surly cat that prefers green.

 

Reviewer: Inderjit Deogun

Publisher: Owlkids Books

DETAILS

Price: $19.95

Page Count: 24 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 978-1-77147-465-8

Released: Apr.

Issue Date: April 2022

Categories: Kids’ Books, Picture Books

Age Range: 3–7