You're All Kinds of Wonderful

August 21, 2017
Tillman’s latest celebration of children’s unique qualities and talents pictures kids in various pursuits, joined by animals that often take part in the fun. Bells are the key motif, represented both in the author’s sunny mixed-media collages and in her equally upbeat verse: “And so, when we’re born, we’re supplied at the start/ with our own bells and whistles to set us apart.” Tillman (You and Me and the Wishing Tree) emphasizes the importance of perseverance in discovering and honing one’s skills. “It takes some practice to make those bells ring,” she writes as a redheaded boy blasts away on a tuba, joined by a singing crow and flute-playing panda. She provides an ethnically diverse cast of children, and includes a young swimmer with a developmental disability, sitting astride a seal and draped in medals. Visual humor provides a welcome balance to the earnest verse: a child and a piglet swoop toward each other on trapezes—pigs can fly!—and a purple hippo sports oversize eyeglasses in a scene that highlights academic achievement. Ages 4–8. Agent: Cathy Hemming, Cathy D. Hemming Literary.