Always Your Stepdad

“The first day we met,/ I was awkward and shy./ But your smile was/ so warm and so wise.// How could I have known/ how my life was to change/ when I looked in those bright,/ thoughtful eyes?” A scrapbook aesthetic punctuates this familial reminiscence by Stansbie, voiced by an adult narrator recalling a burgeoning relationship with a stepchild. Rhyming lines trace the duo’s growing bond, time spent together solo and with the child’s parent, and a moment “when I truly felt I was your.../ DAD.” In desaturated blues, oranges, and reds, Kamshilina features childlike drawings, memorabilia (movie passes, train tickets), and snapshots, all collaged on the page with decorative elements, including patterned tape and stickers. As the adult muses on growing affection for the child, the recollections build to a self-referential image of the now-family of three peering into a photo album, and a promise: “I’ll always be here.” Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Publishing simultaneously: Always Your Stepmom. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)