After a serious event causes family routine to crumble, a child finds a refuge and salve in music. A school-age Black boy relishes the regular comforts of his loving family, including early morning quiet time with Daddy and tender kisses from Momma. Momma's sudden illness and absence--described only as going "away for a while"--opens a gaping hole in the boy's life. In his anguish, the child finds comfort in playing the piano, its music washing over him like "a rainbow of love." Later separating from mischievous friends, the boy finds additional opportunities to "relax . . . shine . . . [and] dream" as music enfolds him, just like his parents' love. Setting his story amid a tawny 1940s cityscape, Collier uses mural-like watercolor and collage to reflect the joyful comfort that music brings the boy. Collier's portraiture transfixes the reader with the boy's hesitant and tender gaze throughout. An optimistic ending reassures the reader of the child's healing connection to music: "The rainbow had found him. And then that feeling lasted forever."

Before Daddy leaves for work, he hugs his young child and whispers, "Son, life is full of holes. You may want to close them up to keep out the storm. But make sure to leave room for that rainbow to find you." The boy's mother's affections are equally ardent, "sweet like penny candy." But on the boy's seventh birthday, Momma gets sick and has to go away, and the child's world comes apart--until he hears a piano playing on the other side of his bedroom wall. Moving through the air in undulating rays of color, his neighbors' music envelopes him, just as his parents' hugs and kisses did, in "a rainbow of love." And instead of joining his friends, "known in the streets as the South Side bandits," in mischief, music--at the movies, from a piano--allows the boy to "relax. He could shine, and he could dream." Working in watercolor and collage on canvas, Collier (We Shall Overcome) blends realism with expressionistic fantasy, and painterly portraiture with a documentarian's eye for detail. The book's watchful protagonist, who is Black, moves through the world with an endearing tentativeness, making scenes in which the boy connects clearly to music all the more joyful and hopeful: "The rainbow had found him. And then that feeling lasted forever." An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. (June)

Sometimes something unexpected can guide us away from the darkest parts of ourselves into a magnificent, glorious light. Collier delivers a visually arresting tale as simple as a peanut-butter--and-jelly sandwich yet more layered than an opera cake. A young Black boy loves his mama and daddy, and they love him right back. But the boy's mother becomes ill, and he feels lonely. Trouble beckons in the form of friends encouraging him to accompany them as they make mischief, but each time, music somehow finds him and sets him on the right path--he overhears a young girl playing the piano, is swept up in the swells of a powerful score at the movies, and finally discovers a piano. Using stunning panels that combine rich watercolors with collage, Collier has created a character whose facial expressions and body language tell the whole story--his joy, anxiety, and promise. The author/illustrator captures that little voice inside us all, the one that calls out when we see something breathtaking. The use of light and color is superb--music is a radiant, swirling rainbow that leads the boy out of the shadows. Collier writes in an author's note that he was inspired by Maya Angelou, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," and Quincy Jones. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A poetic collage of emotion and purpose and a vibrant testament to the power of music. (Picture book. 5-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

K-Gr 3--With tender illustrations conveying deep love and family ties, this book speaks directly to the heart. Collier creates a connection between family love and the power of music, using a refrain of a father's memorable advice in a comforting rhythm: "Leave room for that rainbow to find you. Broken is beautiful." In this context, music is the rainbow that helps guide a lonely young boy, following the death of his mother and his own increasing isolation, through troubled times and bad decisions. Several times, as he is about to embark on true trouble, his father's words wash over him, and he makes different choices. The watercolor paintings and vivid collages give readers a clear picture of the daily struggles and upheaval resulting from an unexpected separation. The illustrations are stunning, and readers will want to spend extra time enjoying their message. An author's note traces Collier's inspiration to three sources: "world-class poet, artist, and activist" Maya Angelou; the well-known poem "The Road Not Taken" by beloved American poet Robert Frost; and supernova Quincy Jones, "a renowned musician, producer, and humanitarian." VERDICT When presented with difficult choices, music provides the focus and motivation for a boy to live up to a father's advice and remember his mother's love in this necessary paean to familial love.--Darby Wallace

"Son, life is full of holes. / You may want to close them up to keep / out the storm / But make sure to leave room for that / rainbow to find you. / Broken is beautiful." A loving father's morning prayer for his son exemplifies this powerful story about a young Black boy's need for connection and hope. When the boy was seven years old, as the gentle third-person narration tells us, his mother became ill and "had to go away for a while." The subsequent emotional void sends him to seek comfort and belonging with troublemaking friends. His pain is momentarily alleviated by music; when he hears piano music from the apartment next door or a movie soundtrack in the theater, he "could relax. He could shine, and he could dream." After participating in a break-in at the rec center, the boy finds a piano. As he plays it, he recalls his father's words, and, in an emotional moment, "the rainbow...found him." The muted shades of Collier's (All Because You Matter, rev. 7/20) accomplished watercolor and collage illustrations brighten as the story progresses; a final spread features a beautiful array of shades and a collage of faces, instruments, and patterns. The transformative power of music is a clear theme, but equally important is the connection between the boy's inability to express feelings of abandonment and disconnection and his destructive behavior. This visual and textual journey of self-discovery offers a poignant message about the potential of the arts to foster children's development. An appended note discusses the story's inspirations. Monique Harris May/June 2022 p.116(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.