Toto

A gentle, uplifting story of facial difference, self-acceptance, and the impact of friendship.—BooklistKiddos can take inspiration from Toto to help them work through their own insecurities.—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s BooksYum finds words for myriad feelings around embodiment, giving readers language to consider their own experiences and imagine others’.—Publishers WeeklyA sweet, uplifting take on facial difference, friendship, and self-acceptance.—Kirkus ReviewsDespite loving support from family who ascribe positive meaning to the birthmark—it means she has superpowers, or that an angel kissed her, and it is her grandmother’s favorite spot to kiss—the girl can tell that “sometimes people only see Toto, not me.” Yum’s limited palette of sepia, gray, black, and white in the mixed-media illustrations effectively reflects this worry by contrasting with the pink of the birthmark, making it stand out.—The Horn BookToto is an it’s-okay-to-be-different book that leaves room for realistically mixed feelings about standing apart.—Shelf AwarenessYum’s pleasing colored pencil and watercolor style is present here, and her talent for minimalistic expression shines through the limited color palette… . A unique addition to any collection.—School Library Journal

Hyewon Yum is the author and illustrator of several acclaimed books for children. Her titles include This Is Our House, The Twins’ Blanket, There Are No Scary Wolves, Last Night, winner of an Honorable Mention Bologna Ragazzi Award and an SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and Mom, It’s My First Day of Kindergarten!, which received the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award. She is also the illustrator of Maya Myers’s Not Little and Not Perfect. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.