LEO AND THE PINK MARKER

A young boy transforms the dusty world around him with his favorite pink marker.

Mom and Mama must work all afternoon at the scrapyard. They tell Leo to play quietly, but after he fills up his entire coloring book, he’s inspired to continue his artwork. Mom’s truck is definitely off-limits, but he sees plenty of other things that could use a pink makeover: the mailbox, the door to the family’s trailer home, and even Hambone the cat. Before Leo realizes it, the whole scrapyard is pink. When Mom and Mama finish working, they have a few questions for Leo. Luckily, it all ends on a happy and affirming note. Against the muted palette of the background, Leo’s pink coloring pops, capturing his pride in both the artistic process and the end result. The text is easy to follow even as it moves playfully around the illustrations from page to page. Though some readers may assume from the title that this is a book about a boy coming to terms with his love of pink—a color often stereotypically associated with girls—this tale subverts expectations; Leo is never made to feel uncertain about his favorite hue. Instead, this is the story of a child with a singular, passionate interest. Leo is a bespectacled Black boy with short, coiled hair. Mama has brown skin and brown hair, while Mom has lighter skin and curly brown hair.

A sweet celebration of coloring outside the lines.