YOU MIGHT FIND YOURSELF

Bright collages show a young person visiting different locations and finding ways to make positive impacts wherever they go.

“Life is like a winding path, with lots of different places to discover along the way.” The young person on the verso is about to cross the threshold from a house’s interior to a torn-paper path that leads to distant hills visible from a picture window across the page’s gutter. As with all the art, there are myriad details for pleasurable pondering. In the foreground, viewers will find a wood-grained table, books and statuary on bookshelves, a cat, wall posters, and more. The recto continues with what sets the tone for the rest of the book: “If you could go anywhere, imagine where you might find yourself.” The remainder of the book has readers imagining themselves in places as varied as a rainforest and a crowded subway car as it briefly explores such separate ideas as paleontology, farming, and musicianship with extraterrestrials. The art and text are often delightfully whimsical, as in a funny tribute to the Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden.” More-serious images include the apparently White protagonist respectfully sharing a campfire with an Aboriginal didgeridoo player. The accessible text always encourages readers to make life choices that uphold values such as helping, sharing, and togetherness, expanded in the backmatter. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

For readers ready to ponder the future or as an alternative to Oh, the Places You’ll Go in graduation season.