A Fish Like Me

An unnamed protagonist who uses a wheelchair on land rolls “under the deep blue water” of a swimming pool “like I roll under the deep blue sky with grace at a pace set by me” in this lushly imagined picture book. Through comparisons to various sea creatures, the child narrates their experience as “a starfish cartwheeling across a universe, my burble of bubbles the only sound when I breathe out” and “a catfish with legs that swish like fins.” Describing their mobility aid as “my other starfish limb and just as much a part of me as my toes” and the swim therapy coach who helps them move through the water, the voice explores different kinds of movement on land and in water, noting that in both places, “I can be silly and free.” Making her picture book debut, Sumner employs direct adjectives (“fearless and brave except when I’m not”) to demonstrate the narrator’s perspective, while gouache, colored pencil, and collage illustrations from Holzwarth (A Flicker of Hope) render the fluid underwater motions of the brown-skinned child alongside undulating flora and fauna. The result is an expansive portrait of bodily autonomy and movement. Secondary characters are portrayed with various body types and skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)