Harrison Dwight, Ballerina and Knight

Harrison Dwight is both a graceful ballet dancer and a fearless knight in this rhyming companion to Eleanor Wyatt, Princess and Pirate. Harrison Dwight participates in activities across the traditionally narrow gender divide—enthusiastically painting his toenails with his dad and attending football games with his mom—and his parents’ acceptance and encouragement allow Harrison to embrace being himself. The text specifically works against the notion that “boys shouldn’t cry,” showing the boy weeping waterfalls when he tumbles, feeling blue when a friend moves away, and tearing up while reading a cherished book. Laudiero’s digitally rendered illustrations can feel generically cartoonish, but they depict characters of varying skin tones, backgrounds, and abilities in buoyant and inclusive celebration. MacFarlane’s message is loud and clear: “the best you can be is just who you are,/ whether crossing home plate or at the ballet barre.” Ages 3–6. (Apr.)