The fairest in the land

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Title:

The fairest in the land

Author:

Newman, Lesléa, author.

Heinsz, Joshua, illustrator.

Summary:

When Annabelle and Benjamin play dress-up they both want to be the bride, the ballerina, and the princess which causes a problem until the two friends realize they can both be whoever they want to be.

Audience:

Ages 4 to 8. Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 29 cm

Genre:

Stories in rhyme.

Picture books.

Subject Term:

Costume -- Juvenile fiction.

Identity (Philosophical concept) -- Juvenile fiction.

Self-realization -- Juvenile fiction.

Friendship -- Juvenile fiction.

Sex role -- Juvenile fiction.

Imagination -- Juvenile fiction.

Play -- Juvenile fiction.

Author(s):

Heinsz, Joshua,

Publisher:

Abrams Books for Young Readers,

Publication Date:

2023

ISBN:

9781419757099

Publication Information:

New York : Abrams Books for Young Readers, [2023]

Call Number:

P NEWMAN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003607218	New Picture Books	NEWMAN	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

When it comes to playing dress-up, best friends Annabelle and Benjamin both want to be the bride, the ballerina, and the princess. Can they both be the fairest in the land? In this spirited and inclusive story about expressing our true selves with pride, two friends ultimately realize that they can both be whoever they want--and that having two princesses means twice the fun.

Author Notes

Lesléa Newman is the author of over 70 books for children and adults. She has received many awards, including two Stonewall Book Awards honors, the National Jewish Book Award ( Gittel's Journey ), fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Book Award, a Sydney Taylor Book Award and Honor, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, and the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, among many others. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists. She is also a popular guest lecturer at college campuses across the country and is a faculty mentor at Spalding University's School of Creative and Professional Writing. Newman lives in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Joshua Heinsz is an internationally published illustrator, writer, and designer specializing in markets for children and a focus on character design for animation. His picture books include Except When They Don't by Laura Gehl, A Paintbrush for Paco by Tracey Kyle, and Frog Boots by Jill Esbaum. He is a graduate of the MFA in illustration practice program at MICA, and he has a love for bright and whimsical imagery with a flair for the fantastical and an air of nostalgia. Heinsz lives in Denver, Colorado.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

A game of dress-up underlines the importance of personal expression in this picture book from Newman and Heinsz. When young Annabelle, portrayed with brown skin, suggests dressing up to white-cued friend Benjamin, Annabelle asks, "Who would you like to be?" He chooses to dress up as a bride, wearing "silk ribbons in my hair/ to match my lacy dress." "Okay," Annabelle says, donning a lavender top hat and tails to walk him down the aisle. As Benjamin next dresses as a ballerina and a princess, Annabelle accompanies by taking on traditional male roles--and growing increasingly gloomy along the way. When Benjamin suggests that they both be princesses, the idea allows them each to enjoy the game, and dance the night away alongside friends shown with varied body types and skin tones. Newman's rhyming quatrains and Heinsz's animation-style illustrations, which lean into candy-bright pinks and purples, offer a portrait of communication and safe-space-making that affirms gender expression across the spectrum. Ages 4--8. (May)