In this picture book, a 5-year-old girl’s birthday party gets canceled due to Covid-19—can her day still be rainbow-packed?

Michaela, a child with dark brown skin, is looking forward to her birthday party—bounce houses, rainbow cake, and the company of all her friends. But the party is planned for March 30, 2020—and mandated quarantine means “she could not roam /…everyone was told to stay home!” A dripping black speech bubble makes quarantine a menacing prospect, and Michaela’s cartoonishly large eyes fill with tears. Helpful Mom plans an alternate structure for the day, where masked neighbors bring gifts and a Zoom conversation supplants in-person partying—and Michaela gets a rainbow dress and draws with chalk outside. A sudden rainstorm washes away the chalk, changing it into “colored rivers”—but doesn’t drive away her masked friends or an unexplained dancing clown. Olsen’s highly stylized cartoons feature U-shaped mouths situated almost between characters’ big eyes and rosy cheeks, producing an over-the-top cutesy effect that may not appeal to all readers. But Michaela’s loving family and their alternate party plan present a model of resilience and adaptation that will be familiar to many youngsters whose early childhoods have been affected by the pandemic. In this compelling tale, Gimba emphasizes that community and joy can still be found through harm reduction and flexibility.

An engaging tale that’s upbeat and frankly responsive to the daily concerns of children.

Glued to her TV screen, a little girl misses fantastical events happening around her in this picture book.

Wild and silly things occur right outside a girl’s window, but she is oblivious. Lounging on her couch, she is “so consumed” by her favorite TV show that she’s not aware of Cupid’s unfortunate, painful encounter with a tree in February; a leprechaun chase in March; and skateboarding grannies in September. Month after month, the girl chooses her TV show over family and friends, ignoring Mother’s Day and Father’s Day; missing the Easter Bunny, fireworks in July, and Santa’s emergency sleigh repair; and even disappearing from her own birthday bash. (“The little girl didn’t mean to flake / But got distracted by the TV when she came in / for a bathroom break.”) Some young readers may question why Mom and Dad don’t pull the plug, but comical exaggeration with a light touch gets the point across about the downside of passive screen watching as the world outside passes by. This work is the third installment of a picture-book series by prolific SF and short story author Gimba. Illustrator Olsen depicts the tale’s characters as round, big-eyed, and diverse (the biracial protagonist has a Black mom and White dad) and tickles funny bones with whimsical details complementing Gimba’s rhyming text.

A child-savvy message about limiting screen time delivered with humor and charm.