by Mamta Nainy
illustrated by Jo Loring-Fisher
 
A small child muses about the different moments in his day, declaring his favourite time is “painting-my-nails-time”. Ma has a whole row of magical bottles and each one conjures up a different mood or place: mysterious purple, sky-sea sea-sky blue, mossy green. Papa seems to disapprove: “What have you done to your nails?”, he asks. This makes him paint his nails flaming red. But when grandpa, Dadaji, holds him and names him “my colourful child”, he picks out the colour of candy floss. A final double spread shows the boy in a lineup with his family, all holding their hands up to catch a rainbow. 
 
A picture book which is both honest enough to show that a child somersaulting over gender stereotypes may not attract everyone’s validation while also remaining hopeful with its final, warm and loving,  family embrace. Set in India and by a New Delhi author. Beautifully soft, textured, layered-over, pictures from an artist who works through a combination of collage, ink, paint and printmaking. ‘Very lyrical with nice underpinning ideas’ (Deborah, Lecturer in EY Education, Letterbox Library reviewer). BookTrust Great Books Guide 2022; The Guardian, Children’s Book of the Month July 2022. Age 4-7, Hardback 24pp
 
Themes: Gender Equality