The Adventures of Qai Qai

Tennis star Williams brings her celebrated positivity and fashion sense to this upbeat story of Baby Girl, a Black child who loves to “prance, passé, and pirouette” at home but is nervous about her solo in an upcoming recital. Cheered on by her doll, Qai Qai, come magically to life, Baby Girl dons an outfit that makes her feel “ready for anything.” She also learns that just as her belief in Qai Qai’s friendship enabled the doll’s transformation, her belief in herself will ensure that Baby Girl dances her very best. The book focuses on the relationship between the girl and doll (the latter, Williams’s commercially available design), as well as Baby Girl’s bond with her supportive parents, portrayed as interracial. Moises’s bright digital cartoon art, dominated by shades of purple, pink, and blue, aptly reflects the book’s element of fantasy laced with optimism. Ages 2–5. (Sept.)