I Want My Book Back

Emotions run high in this volume about a child’s deep attachment giving way to sharing. When young Daryl, portrayed with brown skin, discovers that he can no longer renew his favorite dinosaur book from the library, he throws a T.-rex-size tantrum, roaring and stomping with a frustration that’s vividly captured in Miles’s digital art. (Daryl even bites the book return bin.) He soon returns to the library clad in a green dino costume, ready to reclaim the book, only to find the librarian picking it up for story time. But the savvy librarian, who presents as white, invites him to participate in the reading, ameliorating the child’s distress while involving the storytime circle, which includes children with varying abilities and skin tones. Elbee’s take on the emotional attachment that readers form with books feels apt, and a final portrait of Daryl discovering that books can be shared pays ample tribute to libraries. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)