Stay Angry, Little Girl

Personal characteristics that are sometimes seen as vulnerabilities prove valuable in moments of adversity, hints this work inspired by a memorable line from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time: “ ‘Stay angry, little Meg,’ Mrs. Whatsit whispered. ‘You will need all your anger now.’ ” In straightforward digital spreads by Chan (Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School), a group of pupils portrayed with various abilities and skin tones listens to their teacher read from L’Engle’s book. Next, the children encounter events that require their resistance. In the first, two students discover a chain-link fence around a park, with a sign that reads “Mall coming soon.” The next spread shows the duo in the library doing research about community gardens and fighting deforestation (“Anger helps you know what needs to change,” an attendant line reads). On another spread, a television newscast reads “Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills,” viewed by a family whose child is shown the following day heading a march with classmates (“Stay stubborn, little girl”). Sensitivity, curiosity, loudness, kindness, and playfulness are also embraced in this leanly hortatory accounting of values. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Andrea Brown Literary. (Aug.)