I Am Book

Narrated in rigorous rhyme by a jaunty yellow tome, Cull’s self-referential work explores confidence and fitting in at a new school. At its previous elementary, the library book was “cooler than cool,” but things get off to a rough start at New School Elementary. There, Rugrats-reminiscent patrons, portrayed with various skin tones, mock the volume: “Pffft, I Am Book? That’s so cringe,” says one. “More like I Am Trash,” retorts another, who tears a page from the volume. Hoping to change its reception, the beleaguered protagonist attempts a makeover that embraces arrayed genres, but when nothing feels right, the subject realizes that “not everyone will like me, no matter what they see./ As long as I’m still being the best book I can be.” A jokey tone weaves throughout Cull’s scenes, which lean on potty humor and puns, but the levity doesn’t quite balance the cruelty that the protagonist endures en route to s(h)elf-actualization. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)