I FEEL TEAL

A child goes through a day at preschool, feeling many moods along the way.

This textually ungendered child (with medium-length dark hair in a barrette) awakens pink-cheeked and smiling, in a bedroom awash with pink, with a pink sun shining in. “You’re pink,” says the second-person text. On the next spread, “You’re teal”: The child gazes contentedly through the teal-colored water in a fish tank housing a teal-colored fish. Each spread highlights one hue, and items follow that change deliciously from page to page: The pajama top that was checked pink becomes checked teal; a picture of an ice cream cone, previously pink, turns teal. The verse patters gently: “You’re scarlet, / mauve, and purpley too. / Lilac, / magenta, / a quiet ecru.” Some colors have traditional mood connections: gray or blue for sadness, red for anger. Some carry other meanings: “every golden, warmy shade” shows the warmth of the preschool’s vibe and claims racial diversity for the class. (Eye shape and hair texture imply racial distinctions, though everyone has the matte white skin of the background paper, including the protagonist.) The occasional obscure mood-color connection doesn’t detract, and although some moods’ causes go unexplained, they can be guessed at. Sicuro’s ink figures and watercolor-and-gouache backgrounds have a light, earnest touch. Pair with Tameka Fryer Brown and Shane W. Evans’ bright and imaginative My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood (2013).

Reassuring.