Rainbow Letters: A Book for Rainbow Babies

Kelley directs this compassionate, cheerfully rhyming text toward families who are welcoming a “rainbow baby”—an infant born after a miscarriage, or a birth or postpartum loss. As the story opens “in a dreamy kingdom tucked away/ past cotton candy skies,” a brigade of sibling helpers with varying skin tones await an important job: creating a Rainbow Letter to be sewn into the prospective new arrival’s receiving blanket. It’s “a message/ from a sibling you never knew,/ to share our joy and gladness/ and soothe our parents too.” Halak’s textural mixed-media images depict the celestial sibling spirits, perhaps confusingly, as preschool-age kids. Though the uncontextualized imagery invites more questions than answers, the concept of continued connection may prove comforting: “We celebrate your life/ as ours is remembered too,/ and know that every single day,/ we’ll be watching over you.” Tips for sharing this book with children conclude. Ages up to 8. (Mar.)