Picture Book Review: Beginning by Shelley Moore Thomas, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon (9/27/22)

Surrounded by whimsical oversized plant life, a dad and his son, the main characters in Beginning, reflect together on how every ending is also the start of something new. Though the setting is the real world, elements of each scene are exaggerated to appear fantastical. These images all build toward the end of the book where there is a dream sequence and Dad encourages his son to imagine what his own future might hold. 

This concept is nothing new, and it would be impossible to top something like First the Egg, but the artwork in this book is very visually striking, and that does elevate the text just a bit beyond its cliched sentiment. There is also something nice about a father/son story. These characters are very loving toward one another, and we see them in a variety of everyday circumstances (including reading together) that will be familiar to little boys spending time with their own fathers. The dad and the boy also meet a girl and her mom partway through the book, and there seems to be a bit of a potential love story between the parents unfolding in the illustrations that the text does not address. 

A gentle, positive story with an important, albeit overdone, sentiment, Beginning would be a good book to read on the first day of school, or during any other time of transition in a child's life. 

I received a review of Beginning from Paula Wiseman Books in exchange for an honest review.