An Indie Next List title for July/August 2024 – Indie Next List and titles, are based on votes by booksellers at independent bookstores across the country. (Thank you, Booksellers!)
JUNE 18, 2024 – HarperCollins.
Illustrated by Anna Cunha
REVIEWS
“Just gorgeous. And magical. I love the journey that she goes on with her father. There is a little nod to Where the Wild Things Are — a safer, gentler version, but filled with imagination no less.” — Jessica Devin, Brewster Book Store, Brewster, MA
“What Love Looks Like will make an excellent bedtime story or a way to stretch your imagination and practice mindfulness….Perfect for readers who love Kate Messner’s Once Upon a Book or Micha Archer’s Daniel Finds a Poem; I can’t wait to share this with kids and grown ups too!” — Johanna Albrecht, McIntyres Books, Pittsboro, NC
“Cunha’s artwork is so captivating [and is] perfectly balanced by author Laura Obuobi’s beautiful, well-chosen descriptions told with a storyteller’s sensibility. Obuobi’s writing begs to be read aloud and savored. Not many offerings are so well-matched in their text and art. Indeed, Cunha and Obuobi deliver the embodiment of What Love Looks Like: beautiful things to look at, gentle words before bedtime and someone dear to share them with.” — Jill Lorenzini, Book Page Starred Review
54th NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work, February 2023
OCTOBER 11, 2022 – HarperCollins.
Illustrated by London Ladd
REVIEWS
“Lyrical, empowering, and inspiring. An affirmation of the miracle each individual is.”— Yamile Saied Méndez, author of Where Are You From? and What Will You Be.
“Obuobi pens an origin story that’s at once earthly and impressively cosmic. Alternating between mythical scenes of creation and naturalistic portraits of a growing child, Ladd combines acrylic paint, cut paper, and tissue paper to create dynamic, starlit imagery, launching Obuobi’s astral prose into the stars.” — Publishers Weekly Starred Review
“This emotionally charged tale has the power of a strong embrace. Ladd’s acrylic paint and collage artwork is richly textured, layered with color and shadow for an intense visual treat full of movement and depth. A stunning work of art.” — Kirkus Starred Review
“Reminiscent of creation myths collected in Virginia Hamilton’s In the Beginning (1988), This original creation story will appeal to fans of Spillet-Summer and Goade’s I Sang You Down from the Stars and Charles and Collier’s All Because You Matter.” — Horn Book Starred Review
“A cosmic origin story filled with beauty and strength.” — Booklist Review
“The mixed media art uses rich, saturated colors and striking imagery to embody the depth of an infinite cosmos, bringing the text to life.” — School Library Journal