Librarian's Quest: Believe It!

Most of the day Sunday was spent reading picture books. They were in no particular order. At quarter to midnight, I read the last words and viewed the last image in the final book on my stack. Immediately I said out loud to an empty space, "Oh, my gosh!" I must have startled my canine companion, who was already sleeping in the bedroom, because she quickly came to me in the living room. She wanted to know why I was excited, moved, and joyous.

This is what happens when every word fills your soul with fire and strength. This is what happens when every picture heightens and brightens those words. This is what happens when you read, I Am Every Good Thing (Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, September 1, 2020) written by Derrick Barnes with illustrations by Gordon C. James.

I am

a nonstop ball of energy.

Powerful and full of light.

I am a go-getter. A difference maker.

A leader.

For a moment think of the best things in your life, the things you savor. You are as good as each of those things. When you fall, you get right up. You don't stay down. You rise.

You can dream about being whatever you want to be. You can follow a career with both feet on the ground, or soar above Earth's atmosphere. You are polite in your speech, and respective in your actions to those you know and those you don't know.

The courage to be creative and questioning vibrates in every fiber of your being. You learn, and then you venture forward with your knowledge and ingenuity. When you're with others, your light shines in the vigorous embracing of life. You enjoy every moment and pass it on with laughter.

You sense the cadence of life, moving to its tempo. This takes you to the top should you participate in the action on a court or a field. You value your place in family and friendship. You stand by those relationships, no matter what happens. You are true to yourself wherever you walk. You listen and really hear. You are the promise of the past, and the champion of the future. All these tributes, accolades, and affirmations build word by word, sentence by sentence, to the final two statements which even after several readings of this title, you can't read without a huge emotional response. (My eyes well with tears every single time.)

Reading those first few phrases and sentences penned by Derrick Barnes you feel a power within your spirit rumble to life. With each page turn is grows, and grows, and grows. You find yourself nodding along knowingly at the vivid descriptions. Positivity and pride pour forth as specific, individual incidents, with masterful use of figurative language, spell success. Here is another partial passage.

I am a roaring flame of creativity.

I am a lightning round of questions, and

a star-filled sky of solutions.

I am an explorer, planting a flag on every

square foot of this planet where I belong.

I don't know about you, but when I look at the open and matching dust jacket and book case, I want to stand up and cheer for this child. This child knows who he is and is strong in that belief. This is a child who knows an entire community has his best interests at the heart of everything he does. The radiant red background, the white t-shirt and black pants with the golden-brown tennis shoes, and the raised gold foil title text say loud and clear---read this book. The child's tennis shoe continues on the other side of the spine.

To the left, on the back, is an endorsement from author Jacqueline Woodson and there are references to Crown: An Ode To The Fresh Cut and The King Of Kindergarten. On the opening and closing endpapers in tones of denim is a sea of children's faces. These smiling and contemplative faces represent an array of boys.

These illustrations by Gordon C. James rendered with oil paints are highly animated, emotionally charged. They shift in size from double-page pictures, to full-page pictures and also to full-page images with white framing. The color palette is a stunning display of complementary hues.

Each image is worthy of framing. Each one has you wishing you could meet the children featured. They are full of life, lives unfolding in positive potential.

One of my many, many favorite pictures, paintings, is the first one. On a background of pale turquoise swirls infused with clouds, a child flies with great speed and gleeful abandon. His head is turned back to the left. His eyes are alight with happiness. A grin spreads across his face. His left arm is outstretched. His right arm is by his side. His red tennis shoes have red speed streaks depicting his movement. He is wearing a green shirt and blue jeans. His cape is a mix of colors, representing cloth or perhaps feathers. His merriment is contagious.

This book, I Am Every Good Thing written by Derrick Barnes with illustrations by Gordon C. James, is not one to be read only once. Oh, no. This is a book to be read repeatedly. There is not a person on this planet who will not be uplifted by this book. This is a book to begin and end each day. This is a book to cherish. You will want to have multiple copies in your professional collections and at least one in your personal collections.

To discover more about Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James and their other work, please follow the link attached to their names to access their respective websites. Derrick Barnes has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Gordon C. James has accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For your listening pleasure there are podcasts with the author and illustrator at Listen Notes, Here Wee Read, and at School Library Journal, The Yarn. Derrick Barnes speaks with teacher librarian Matthew C. Winner on his podcast. Derrick Barnes is interviewed at Entertainment Weekly. Both creators are interviewed at BookPage. The cover was revealed in a post written by Sara Grochowski at Publishers Weekly. At the publisher's website you can listen to a sample of the book.