Growing an artist: The story of a landscaper and his son by John Parra

There is a huge disparity between the number of Latinx or Hispanic people in the US and the published books depicting them. My own small Wisconsin town is sandwiched between two similarly-sized towns, both with substantial Spanish-speaking populations, one a wealthy tourist town. It's extremely common to see (and hear racist jokes about) Hispanic people working as landscapers and in outdoor maintenance. I've also relaxed my previous reluctance to purchase picture book biographies since I now have what I have always maintained is the perfect audience for them - elementary school classes - with multiple teachers doing the classroom book a day challenge. All of which is to say, this is a unique, stand-out picture book.

Inspired by his own memories of helping his dad, Parra tells the story of Juanito who is excited to help out his papi who works as a landscape contractor. At their first stop, Juanito is enjoying helping his papi and assistant Javier to mow perfect lines, trim bushes, and rake up leaves when he sees a friend from school in the window of a neighboring house. He waves, but Alex looks away and pretends he's not there. As Juanito continues his ride-along, he observes, sketches, and talks to his papi, thinking about Alex's reaction. Eventually, he creates a landscape sketch for a "special place," what appears to be a community center, and reflects on all he has learned and experienced, determined to continue drawing so he can tell the stories of his family and friends, their hard work, and the beauty they bring to the world.

Parra finishes the story with a note of his own childhood, his father who ran a landscape and construction company, how they helped others, and his early days of working with his dad and eventual journey to art school. Parra's distinctive art, acrylics on illustration board, shows the grainy texture of wood in the backgrounds. Each picture looks like an individual portrait with a careful placement of figures, design elements, and plants, as though the artist filled in the blueprints found on the endpages.

Verdict: Pair this with Little House of Hope for a great storytime for older listeners on the strength in immigrant families, the dignity and beauty of labor, and the recognition of workers often overlooked in our society. If you can pair it with an outdoor lesson cleaning up or working in community gardens, that would be even better.

ISBN: 9781534469273; Published May 2022 by Simon & Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library