Mariama - Different But Just the Same

A wonderful picture book about immigration and and the difficulties of integration into a new home country.

My dislike of this book is based entirely around the artwork. And I am not going to apologize for that! Nívola Uyá has their own style, which focuses more on bright colors than any semblance of realism. To the point that there are SEVERAL faces in this book that drive right off a cliff into the Uncanny Valley. I could honestly see this giving kids a bit of a spook, given how wrong the faces are, even for cartoons.There's also a problem with the text sometimes blending into the pictures, especially when the backgrounds are a darker color. The book designer never changes the color of the text to help it pop, so you're left with thin black lines on dark brown.If you want a more well-designed book about the immigrant experience, I recommend "I'm New Here" by Anne Sibley O'Brien. That covers the experiences of three different children, with different challenges, and the book design is far better curated.