This is a simple, but powerful story of how one child has many parts to her. Three in fact (which is why the title is I Can Be All Three). The first part is her father and his Indian heritage, the second her mother’s German heritage and finally the third is her school and growing up American parts. But when her classroom assignment is to pick something that represents you and your culture for the Multicultural Day celebration, she is unsure how to choose. After all, all three give her something special and each is something that gives her joy. How can she only pick one thing? Because that would mean she would be incomplete. Of course, eventually she realizes that I Can Be All Three.
The fun part of the story is that t he young girl of the story is not only student who is three, too. At least two of her friends have their own mixtures. Salima Alikhan and Noor Sofi honor all the pieces of our puzzles. The story is sweet and while most enjoyable, the art was the winner for me.
Everything is brightly colored, and boldly done. It is not overwhelming but does encompass the story. It is supportive to the text. And the images themselves are round, smooth, “safe” which allows for a comfortable atmosphere for reader and characters. I had not realized Noor was also the illustrator of Brown Is Beautiful: A Poem of Self-Love, though they are similar. But the nice thing is they are also different enough to not feel like you are seeing the same illustrations.
