"The reiterative phrase 'I come from...' frames the reflections of a Black child narrator discussing their identity in this tenderly observed picture book. Layered collage spreads by Caldecott Honoree Mora pulse with vibrant color and movement. Poet Gray, making a picture book debut, models the process of, and the power in, learning that 'I come from/ somewhere.'" — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"While describing a seemingly ordinary routine, the lyrical text is a journey through Black language and culture, evoking a sense of identity, community, and connectedness. Mora's mixed-media illustrations enhance the poetic storytelling. The colorful collage-work adds texture and motion to the pages, while selective hand-lettering emphasizes parts of the verse. This beautifully rendered picture book serves as a reminder of the importance of familial and cultural identity and the grounding that it offers in the wider world." — Horn Book (starred review)
"In a book that comes right from the heart, Gray explores a young Black boy’s experience during a typical day in his neighborhood. Mora’s beautiful illustrations enhance the view of the hero’s environment and experiences. Although the focus of this book is on a Black family, children of all ethnicities and gender identities will be able to relate to the main character feeling out of place for something that outwardly casts him as “different” from others. A beautiful, simple look into one child’s typical experience that all readers can learn from and relate to." — School Library Journal (starred review)
"Elegantly crafted verse alternates between alliteration and sounds that pack a vocal punch. To match the impact of the text, Mora’s art is varied and attractive, utilizing mixed media to convey a patchwork of textures and the purposefully unpolished hand of a kid’s drawings as a riot of color splashes every page. This picture book is a beautiful, dreamy, powerful answer about identity in response to a racist question that attempts to reduce kids of color to something easily contained." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
"For some, 'Where are you from?' has a geographical answer, but this kid offers a thoughtful and poignant alternative perspective that showcases the layered textured papers and gouache paints of Mora’s illustrations. The answers he ultimately offers readers are as tasty as 'buttermilk biscuits' or as touching as 'bear-tight cuddles,' as soft as pecks on the cheek or as far-reaching as the hopes and dreams of his family. An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable." — Kirkus Reviews
"Multiple-award-winning illustrator Mora creates a vibrant world: double-page spreads pop with bright, detailed collages of painted and patterned paper, including well-considered swatches of printed paper. In his picture-book debut, poet Gray shines a light on a contemplative child who sees his family ethos as a place of reassurance and pride and recognizes his own belonging there as a reader and storyteller. A satisfying and affirmative read about self-awareness and family." — Booklist
★ 08/01/2023
K-Gr 2—In a book that comes right from the heart, Gray explores a young Black boy's experience during a typical day in his neighborhood. Readers meet the unnamed main character as he is waking up to get ready for school. Throughout the day he plays with friends, attends classes, and heads to the local shop for candy. Though an uneventful day, there is an underlying message about the struggles that Black children encounter in their everyday lives. Various classmates question his voice for not sounding "Black" enough and assume he is a good basketball player. The story really shines when the boy is home with his family, where his culture is accepted, validated, and celebrated. Mora's beautiful illustrations enhance the view of the hero's environment and experiences. Although the focus of this book is on a Black family, children of all ethnicities and gender identities will be able to relate to the main character feeling out of place for something that outwardly casts him as "different" from others. VERDICT A beautiful, simple look into one child's typical experience that all readers can learn from and relate to.—Lauren White
2023-07-13
For some, “Where are you from?” has a geographical answer, but this kid offers a thoughtful and poignant alternative perspective.
As the Black narrator begins the day, waking in a toy- and book-filled room and rising from a bed covered by a tapestry that showcases the layered textured papers and gouache paints of Mora’s illustrations, he recalls where—and what and who—he comes from. It’s an ostensibly average day—enjoying a favorite breakfast of pan-fried bologna and pancakes with the fam, admiring the assortment of hairstyles on the school bus, from his own fade to the “laid edges” of a peer, hearing raucous kids earning a stern word from the bus driver, and making it through a long school day of learning. But the boy also encounters racialized comments—scribbled in frenetic large type across a full-page spread—from the other kids that make him visibly uncomfortable: “Can I touch your hair?” “You don’t sound Black.” “Where are you from?” But the answers he ultimately offers readers are as tasty as “buttermilk biscuits” or as touching as “bear-tight cuddles,” as soft as pecks on the cheek or as far-reaching as the hopes and dreams of his family. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An origin story for the ages—intimate, poetic, singular, and broadly relatable. (Picture book. 4-8)
