Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng - ADVISABLE

Over the Shop by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Qin Leng. PICTURE BOOK. Candlewick Press, 2021. $17. 9781536201475.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is a wordless picture book that tells the story of a surprising family being formed between the renters of an apartment and the family who own the store below. A young girl and her grandparent try to rent out the worn apartment above their store; nobody takes it until a queer couple arrives and is willing to put in the work the space requires. By accepting this special couple into their lives, the family and the store are all transformed.

I find wordless picture books require a lot of careful reading, but I very much enjoyed this one. The watercolor illustrations really express the feelings of the story--especially the joyful love that leaps off the page by the end. I don't think the fact of this couple being queer is going to be obvious to younger readers but there are small things here and there that make it clear with close reading. With a need to have more diverse families and characters in picture books, I like this addition for our libraries. 

Reviewer: TC