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The Book of Mistakes | March 7, 2018

By Corinna Luyken (Dial Books for Young Readers/Penguin Young Readers)

Intrigued by the title, The Book of Mistakes, I picked up this book and was struck by the simply put yet profound message that success can come from making mistakes. Corinna Luyken illustrates an artist, drawing a girl, who makes one eye bigger than the other. She tries to fix her mistake by making the other eye a little bigger, but it ends up being even bigger than the other. The artist then draws a pair of glasses over the uneven eyes, which works like a charm. As the story progresses, more mistakes are made and the artists finds even more creative ways to correct them. Readers will come away with an important lesson: making mistakes is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, mistakes often make us even better than we were before.

Aside from the lesson, The Book of Mistakes showcases Luyken’s quirky yet striking artwork. I loved how the design of the book started with a lot of white space with black sketch-like drawings then filled up with captivating drawings laced with splashes of colors. This is a beautiful debut novel that both children and parents can learn from and love for years to come. I look forward to seeing what Luyken comes up with next!

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