[DiverseKidLit] Dripping Colours Around A Grey Neighbourhood in “Maybe Something Beautiful”

Myra here.

Our theme for today’s Diverse Children’s Books linkup is Favorite Bilingual Book(s). What are your favorite children’s books in two or more languages? (The theme is only a suggestion. Diverse posts on alternate topics are always welcome.)

What Is #DiverseKidLit?

Diverse Children’s Books is a book-sharing meme designed to promote the reading and writing of children’s books that feature diverse characters. This community embraces all kinds of diversity including (and certainly not limited to) diverse, inclusive, multicultural, and global books for children of all backgrounds.

We encourage everyone who shares to support this blogging community by visiting and leaving comments for at least three others. Please also consider following the hosts on at least one of their social media outlets. Spread the word using #diversekidlit and/or adding our button to your site and your diverse posts.

We hope this community will grow into a great resource for parents, teachers, librarians, publishers, and authors! Our next linkup will be Saturday, October 1st and on the first and third Saturdays of every month.

Upcoming Theme

Our theme for the current linkup is Favorite Bilingual Book(s). Themes are a suggestion only; all diverse book posts are welcome. If you’re interested, you can start planning now for our upcoming themes …

• October 1st and 15th linkups: Favorite Diverse Author or Illustrator. Who is a must-read author or illustrator for you? Share your favorite(s) with us for next time.

Most Clicked Post from Last Time

Miss T’s post on 7 Diverse Books Featuring a Character With A Disability was our most-clicked post of the previous #diversekidlit! This compilation reviews a great mix of fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and novels featuring characters with a range of disabilities. This is a great resource for all readers.

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Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed A Neighborhood

Author: F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell
Illustrator: Rafael López
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016
ISBN: 0544357698
ISBN-13: 9780544357693. Borrowed from the Jurong West Public Library. Book photos taken by me.

Given that our current reading theme has to do with artists and rebels in literature, I thought of sharing this book. Mira is a young girl with colours in her heart. She lived in a gray, bleak city, made only a wee bit cheerful by Mira’s thoughtful efforts: a red heart to a policeman patrolling the street, or a glowing sun taped onto a wall are but a few of the things that Mira does.

Until a man who called himself a muralist took Mira’s initiative to a whole new level entirely, unleashing the artist in everyone who lives in this neighborhood:

My absolute favourite was these lines – took a photo and posted it on Litsy.

How beautiful to decorate the sidewalks with “poetry and shine.” The Authors’ Note made this story come even more alive for me. Apparently, this is based on a true story:

Rafael and Candice Lopez designed a plan to bring people together to create art so that their neighborhood could become a better place for all to live. They held meetings in their home to share their idea. Everyone was invited – police officers, graffiti artists, teachers, single parents, children, homeless people, and more. With the help of many, the Urban Art Trail was born, and volunteers of all ages, races, and walks of life committed themselves to a common goal: reviving their community through art.

The fact that the setting of this story is in downtown San Diego California, also made me love it even more. My sister in law used to be based in San Diego, and we have such beautiful memories of the place, particularly Balboa Park which we loved:

I thought that the place was vibrant and filled with life. And yes, art, nature, and music!

Find this book. It will give you a taste of San Diego and its beautiful people. But it could also be everyone else’s neighbourhood transformed in beauty through art.

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