A little girl longs to see beyond the scary sights on the sidewalk and the angry scribbling in the halls of her building. When her teacher writes the word beautiful on the blackboard, the girl decides to look for something beautiful in her neighborhood. Her neighbors tell her about their own beautiful things. Miss Delphine serves her a “beautiful” fried fish sandwich at her diner. At Mr. Lee’s “beautiful” fruit store, he offers her an apple. Old Mr. Sims invites her to touch a smooth stone he always carries. Beautiful means “something that when you have it, your heart is happy,” the girl thinks. Her search for “something beautiful” leaves her feeling much happier. She has experienced the beauty of friendship and the power of hope.
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From Publishers Weekly
This moving picture book offers a shining testament to the ability of human beings to find "something beautiful" in even the most unlikely places. An African American girl initially sees only the ugliness of her neighborhood. There is "trash in the courtyard and a broken bottle that looks like fallen stars." On her front door, someone has scrawled the word "DIE," and a homeless lady "sleeps on the sidewalk, wrapped in plastic." Searching for something beautiful?"something that when you have it, your heart is happy"?she polls various neighbors. For an old man it is the touch of a smooth stone; for Miss Delphine, it's the taste of the fried fish sandwich in her diner; for Aunt Carolyn, it's the sound of her baby's laugh. When the girl decides to create her own "something beautiful," she picks up the trash, scrubs her door clean and realizes, "I feel powerful." Wyeth's (Always My Dad) restrained text is thoughtful without being didactic. She creates a city landscape that is neither too dark nor too sweet; and her ending is just right, with the heroine's mother saying that her daughter is her "something beautiful." Soentpiet's (Peacebound Trains) paintings are luminously lifelike. Whether depicting the girl running past a chain-link fence in a dark alley or Miss Delphine's patrons sitting beneath the rows of glinting glasses, the paintings focus on a community with characters so real, readers can almost feel the sunlight on their faces. All ages.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Looking at the trash and graffiti in the courtyard outside her inner-city apartment, a young African-American girl wishes for something beautiful. As she walks home from school, she asks friends and neighbors what their "something beautiful" is, and gets a delightful array of answers: Sybil's jump rope, old Mr. Sims's smooth stone, Aunt Carolyn's baby's laugh, the fried fish sandwiches Miss Delphine serves at her diner. Back home, the girl cleans up her trash-filled courtyard and resolves to help make her own neighborhood into something beautiful. Told in the child's voice, the text captures the curiosity and resilient spirit of childhood. The paintings, rich with realistic detail, begin with dark, sometimes spooky images of a world filled with broken bottles and chain-link fences, then move to brighter, happier scenes peopled with the friendly faces of the neighborhood. Inner-city children will appreciate this believable, upbeat depiction of a community and may be inspired to seek out something beautiful of their own. This engaging picture book could spark discussion about what "beautiful" means to children in any neighborhood.
Dawn Amsberry, formerly at Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Dawn Amsberry, formerly at Oakland Public Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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When I look through my window, I see a brick wall. Read the first page
Front Cover | Excerpt
When I look through my window, I see a brick wall. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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By elfdart
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
this story teaches kids that they have the power to create their own beauty and bring it to their lives. the girl in this book walk around her house and sees some not very nice things, including some not so nice graffiti on a door, and the reader gets a sense of her unease. then she goes to school and her teacher teaches the class the word beautiful, which is described as something, when you have it, that makes your heart happy. so she goes around the neighbourhood asking people what is beautiful to them, and various responses are given. finally the little girl goes back to the graffiti and erases it, making a bit of beauty come into her own world. after that it ends on a sweet note with her mother. i think this a good book to read to a child to teach them that they have the power to make a positive change in the world, and that for every cloudy day there is an optimistic sun hiding unseen that is capable of showing itself to those who look for it.
Format:Paperback
Sharon Dennis Wyeth's 1998 book "Something Beautiful" was inspired by her own memories of growing up in a place which was, perhaps, not as beautiful as she would have liked. We follow an unnamed little girl through her neighborhood as she looks for something beautiful as a teacher has instructed her to do. What we see is litter, broken windows, scary graffiti, homeless people, and more. But the little girl manages to find out from everyone she asks what they find beautiful around them. She is variously given the examples of a fish sandwich, a jump rope, some apples at a fruit market, and even a smooth, heavy stone a neighbor carries for good luck. The best and most beautiful example, though, comes from the little girl's mother--and her reply ends the book on a lovely note.
Chris Soentpiet's watercolor illustrations are nothing short of remarkable. They are nearly photographic in their detail and lifelike aspect, and they give a visual rhythm to the text. He is to be commended for his ability to combine both an unflinching look at a downtrodden neighborhood and examples of how we all can find beauty everyday, if we look hard enough.
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I love the illustrations in Something Beautiful because it shows how the girl feels. My favorite part is when she goes looking for something beautiful. Then she finds out that she is beautiful. The illustrations are bright and colorful.
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4.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emily from Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary
I think Something Beautiful was excellent because of Chris Soenpiet's illustrations. I think they were wonderful, marvelous, and interesting. Read more
Published on Jan 10 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Whitney from Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary
I think that Chris Soenpiet's illustrations are definitely awesome. He adds very good details and I like how he paints real things that are in our lifetime. Read more
Published on Jan 10 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aubrie from Ashley River Creative Art EL.C SC
My favorite part in the story was when the girl washed her front door clean because the door was pretty. I love the Illustrations. This is my favorite book in the world. Read more
Published on Dec 4 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Markeila from Ashley River Creative Arts El.
My favorite parts of the story are when she helped clean the court yard, wanted to give the homeless lady a home and put red paint on the door. I give this book 5 stars. Read more
Published on Dec 4 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brianna from Ashley River Creative Art EL.
My favorite part of the story is when the girl helped the lady who lived on the sidewalk and when she cleaned up the courtyard. Read more
Published on Dec 4 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story about looking for the beautiful part of life.
I came across this book at a reading exposition in an inner city school. This is the story of a little girl who comes from drab environs. Read more
Published on Aug 11 1999
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