I Will Always Be...

In confident, first-person prose, a child speaker celebrates their abundant potential, connecting skills and passions to possible future pathways including dancer, inventor, artist, baker, and more. Gardyn Levington’s joyful rhymes pinpoint the pleasure to be had in activity (“I wonder, wander, ponder,/ full of questions constantly./ I analyze and scrutinize/ each insect, rock, and tree”), and reiterative phrasing gestures toward the way enduring interests can become facets of identity: “I haven’t saved our planet... yet./ (Perhaps one day. We’ll see!)/ But still, I know, no matter what,/ I will always be...// a scientist.” Texture and dimensionality emerge from Jomepour Bell’s busy artwork, which mingles paper- and photo-collage elements with inky drawings and digital techniques to create saturated images of life’s messy beauty, conveying a triumphant and inspiring energy throughout. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)