June is Pride Month. I have been trying to catch up on some older titles, but there are a lot of new ones, too, so I just never seem to be able to. However, the other day I found two older ones called Linus written and illustrated by Stuart Hausmann and Plátanos Are Love by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris with illustrations by Mariyah Rahman. I was able to locate online reader copies, but both titles are currently out.
It was easy to see by page one how Linus was going to be about pride. The images seemingly without color at first, but then, where there was actual color, it was surrounding one character who we are told felt different from those around them. They were not just black, white or gray; but black with a red bowtie. You could feel that they were not a “stick in the mud” and a “line leader.” No, those balloons and bowtie said,”This is Linus, and they are not like the usual citizens of this town.”
The theme continues with people trying to convert Linus into being “normal” and “like everyone else” but he cannot change. So Linus runs away and finds a place where they can belong. The best part for me was that the people of the new town (all sorts of colors, sizes and shapes) at first are not sure about Linus. Because no matter where you go, different is not always accepted at first. It takes time as it did with these new people. Of course, they learn things are okay with Linus among them. Then there is one another fun twist to things.
I won’t spoil the entire book for you, but will say that the artwork is delightful and I like how it is aimed at a younger audience, but an older one is fine with it as well. The story is aimed at the five and up crowd; with the upper end being able to read solo and/or with help, but adults will appreciate it as well.
Now the other book is Plátanos Are Love. This book was less likely for pride in the usual sense from the first look. The cover didn’t show any of the usual clues that it would be a queer pride story. And it turns out, it isn’t, but it is another wonderful kind of pride. The pride we have in ourselves, our family, and our ancestors. This book is about the pride of tradition and being together with the one thing that can connect generations, food. And in this case, one versatile type of food.
The young girl of the story tells us about her grandmother, their times together, and how the family celebrates together. We see how she, her cousin and their grandmother come together to make different types of dishes from the plátanos. This is done with a mix of Spanish and English (though this one is mainly in English, there are editions (I am assuming) all in Spanish). There is a glossary at the end of things to help with some of the words you might not be familiar with. The writing is for the older crowd, so at least five to eight. This is supported by the illustrations that are colorful but not as “bouncy” as toddler or young kids books can be. But they are not skimping on the fun, color or even the bounce. They are delightful and keep the upbeat feeling of the theme. There is a good contrast between the “now” images and the ancestral images, and it has a coziness to it.