There Is a Rainbow

Employing parallel phrasing (“There is a here. There is a there”), this picture book follows a dark-haired child of color and a white child who has red pigtails. The duo draws a sidewalk chalk rainbow together, safely distanced, before parting. “On the other side of the screen,” one spread begins, showing the pale child alone in her room on a laptop, “there is a school,” portrayed in a Zoom-like grid. “On the other side of the window,” reads another page, as the brown-skinned child paints apartment windows with a rainbow, “there is a neighbor”; the child leans out and waves. Dense, emphatic strokes of colored pencil by Snider emphasize connection despite separation. “On the other side of today,” Trinder concludes, imagining the reunion of the children, “there is tomorrow.” Quietly, but with upbeat faith, this rhythmic narrative holds out hope for better times. Back matter includes an author’s note explaining the book’s inspiration: the rainbows Trinder saw in windows during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ages 4–6. [em](Jan.) [/em]