Not Perfect
by Maya Myers; illus. by Hyewon Yum
Preschool    Porter/Holiday    40 pp.
4/24    9780823451708    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780823457472    $11.99

Not Little (rev. 9/21) protagonist Dot is not happy about not being perfect. While her multiracial family members excel at their endeavors (sister is an artist, twin brothers are spelling bee champs, Mom has a black belt, Dad sings in a band, and: “Even my cat is perfect”), Dot bakes lopsided cupcakes, kicks too-wide goals, and plays wrong notes on the piano. At school, her best friend, Sam, shines in tidiness and rule-following, and Dot chooses him for her “person we admire” project. Frustration grows and self-esteem plummets as her portrait of Sam doesn’t match what’s in her head. She rips up her drawing, storms outside, angry-jumps on a trampoline, then dries her tears, gets back to work—and arrives at a perfectly imperfect solution. This second book about Dot gives the realistic-seeming child plenty of support from nonjudgmental adults, providing time and space to solve her own problems—and without the pressure of perfection. Spare colored-pencil illustrations with lots of white space are particularly good at reflecting Dot’s feelings, from eager and hopeful to self-conscious, mad, and sad, to relaxed, contented, and proud. “‘I made a lot of mistakes. It was really hard.’ ‘But you did it,’ [Sam] says. ‘That’s true.’ I did a little bounce of happiness. ‘I did.’”

Pubissue-From the March/April 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.