Curly-headed Jameson wears green pants, always. With them on, he can do anything including dance like there's no tomorrow! He's quite skilled at getting rid of any non-green pants and can't imagine he will ever need to change his color scheme. But then his cousin Armando shows up with his fiancee, Jo. Jameson is smitten and thrilled to be asked to be in their wedding. But then his mom breaks the news to him - he will have to wear a tuxedo. Tuxedos are black. Including the PANTS. Jameson is torn between his favorite color and being part of Jo's wedding - until he finally decides what is most important to him.
SPOILER
He wears the black pants. Yep! But when it's time for dancing, he whips them off and underneath...are his green pants! (no, they're not underwear.) There are a number of things I like about this story. One is that Jameson (and his mom) chose not to stick to his own preferences and adapted to what Jo wanted for her wedding. He found a nice compromise even though it involved giving up something he really, really wanted - i.e. wearing his green pants all the time. I liked the message that it was more important for Jameson to do what Jo wanted in her wedding than "be himself" all the time. Like I tell the teens, you have to coexist!
Another thing I like is how the illustrations portray a predominantly brown background. Many "diverse" books have a token black family, surrounded by a sea of white faces. Kraegel's art shows a loving, supportive community and family. There are some white faces in the church crowd at the wedding, but they're a minority, not the focus.
Verdict: Not necessarily a storytime choice, although it might go well with a dancing theme, this is a great story to read with kids to help them think outside the box.
ISBN: 9780763688400; Published 2017 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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