It felt really good to write this post about Chris Park’s brilliant illustrations for Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic’s Touch the Sky (Lerner Publishing Group 2024). In it, I say:

“Through his decision to present personal resilience  embodied by a gender-nonconforming boy, I argue that Park displays “excellence of pictorial interpretation of story, theme, or concept” and distinction in his “delineation of […] character.” Nothing in the text overtly calls for this visual characterization, after all, but Park builds on the moment when “[s]ome kids laughed as they soared past [Vern],” to illustrate a boy who is more vulnerable to bullying than one who conforms to gender norms might be. This decision ultimately adds great depth to a story about reaching great heights.”

 Read the whole post at this link at the Horn Book: https://www.hbook.com/story/blogs/touch-the-sky