A day so gray by Marie Lamba, illustrated by Alea Marley

This sweet and colorful book will encourage young readers who are having a bad day or are tired of winter to look on the bright - and colorful - side.

The narrative begins with a young white girl with reddish-brown hair starting out the window at a snowy scene, saying "This day is so gray." A smiling girl with curly dark hair and dark skin offers her a hat and says "No, it isn't!" The two venture outside into the snowy landscape. As the white girl stomps along behind, hands in pockets, the colored girl splashes in blue puddles and feels the warm yellows of the sun shining through the snow onto the trees. They walk through fields of brown, where one sees orange, red, and tan, through white snow with "lines of purple and squiggles of gray." A black cat is denounced as bad luck, until the cheery girl inspects her pink paws, flecks of white, green eyes, and exults in her warm fur. The two are back inside now, inspecting an orange fire that's more than just orange, and finally curling up together with the black cat, under a colorful quilt, as they admire the sunset.

Marley's colorful art joins with Lamba's poetic prose to create a colorful celebration of looking for the color, warmth, and loveliness when things seem dark, gray, and sad.

Verdict: A good storytime choice, best for preschool-age children. Also a good choice for classrooms to read and discuss the variety of colors and different shades they represent, or looking for positive aspects of a situation or event. I included this on my activity calendars.

ISBN: 9781328695994; Published October 2019 by Clarion Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library