Dazzling Travis

January 15, 2019
A rhyming story about being yourself.Travis likes basketball, dress-up, and ballet. In wooden, unnecessary rhymes, he comes across bullies, both boys and girls: "Sometimes my classmates, / When on the playground / Like staring and judging / And cutting me down." Confident Travis stands up to his gender-policing peers, declaring "I am who I am! / There's no boy and girl line. / In sports or in dress-up, / I'll sparkle and shine. // The toys that we play with, / Or clothes that we wear, / express who we are / And our natural flair." Illustrations directly mirror the text in blocky, flat graphics. The hammer-headed message, that kids should express themselves regardless of gender stereotypes, is fine. Excruciating verse, with rhymes both wrenched and forced, detracts significantly from the already-uninspired story. At one point Travis, a black child with short, natural hair, confusingly says "I swish back my hair"; in the backmatter readers learn that the author was inspired by a former student, a white boy with much more swishable hair. The haphazard selection of other inspirations includes Coco Chanel and Langston Hughes. "Just like Travis, these people struggled against the opinions of others, but they persevered and soon dazzled in their own ways," an anodyne way to refer to misogyny, racism, and homophobia. Gender and stereotyping are popular themes for picture books; readers are blessed with the opportunity to choose almost any other. (Picture book. 3-6)

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May 27, 2019
In cheery rhymes, Dias introduces Travis, a boy who likes dressing as a knight as much as dancing ballet: “Dresses and armor:/ Pink, black, or green./ I pretend I’m a knight,/ A king or a queen.” But while he’s confident, kids on the playground antagonize him about playing with a doll. Travis responds boldly: “I am who I am!/ There’s no boy and girl line./ In sports or in dress-up,/ I’ll sparkle and shine.” Like Travis, his friends’ personalities shine through their nongendered clothing and the toys they choose (one boy wears fairy wings; two girls play with a fire truck and a robot). While the characters show individuality in their clothing choices, Figueroa’s artwork can feel stiff. Dias offers little nuance in favor of a straightforward message about embracing individuality, defying stereotypes, and standing up against bullies. Back matter includes brief, seemingly arbitrarily chosen biographies of Fernando Bujones, Langston Hughes, and Elizabeth Stride—a supplement too insubstantial to meaningfully enhance the story. Ages 5–7.

March 1, 2019
Preschool-G This celebration of living one's best life features the first-person voice of Travis, a boy of color with a lot of flair: Colorful denim / And glitter galore / Are some of my favorites / To play in, explore. / Dresses and armor: / Pink, black, or green. / I pretend I'm a knight, / A king or a queen. He likes ballet and basketball, shopping and building robots, and when kids on the playground bully him and his supportive group of friends, they stand up for themselves and change some minds. The pencil and digitally colored cartoon illustrations of the diverse group of kids are stronger than the well-intentioned but pedestrian rhymes, yet, overall, the book succeeds in communicating the message promised in the subtitle. It also includes short introductions to several trailblazers, like Coco Chanel and Langston Hughes, and questions to guide assisting grown-ups, including, Ask your child, ?What do you think it would be like if we were all the same?' (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)