Lucy and the Dragonfly

PreS-Gr 1-Lucy is a young girl who loves to sing with the brook, grass tickling her feet, while a dragonfly sits on her shoulder. But even as she loves the Earth, the wind whispers "all the bad things the humans were doing to their planet." As the Earth's heartbeat weakens, Lucy retreats into her house, shedding a single tear on the dragonfly's wing. This tear spreads her story worldwide, until it gets to a boy named Tama, who read Lucy's story in the river. He shares her story with people all over the world who want to cure Lucy's sadness, so they began to heal the sick planet. Finally, Lucy finds what she needs—hope. Delicate lines and soft colors create textures and movement in the hipster-inspired illustrations. The saccharine narrative aims for evocative lyricism, but is bogged down in didactic preciousness. The depiction of Tama and the villagers is one problematic element. Villagers are shown living in huts seemingly roofed with straw, with no means of communication to the outside world. One of the villagers is drawn wearing nothing but a bit of fabric wrapped around their waist. The text and illustrations reinforce the idea that it's a white child's duty to simply feel sad about the current environmental state; it's the job of everyone else to do the actual work. People don't want to save the Earth because it's better for all of humanity, they are compelled by "the story of a little girl who had given up on the Earth. The little girl who had once smiled like the face of the sun." Unfortunately, this title lacks back matter that could illuminate these questionable choices.