All the Faces of Me

All the Faces of Me is a charming and vibrant picture book written by Laura Alary and wonderfully illustrated by Salini Perera. The unnamed child narrator is interested in her nana's Ukrainian nesting dolls, but the similarities of the dolls’ appearances – each doll with an identical smiling expression – doesn’t seem right to the child. The child decides to use correction fluid and markers to change the dolls’ facial expressions. Instead of identical dolls, the largest doll now contains smaller dolls each showing different emotions. Her nana is understandably upset when she sees what the child has done. The child tells her nana that, within her, there is the potential for several different emotions or “faces”. She describes some of the different faces she has within herself that she has now drawn on the dolls. Her grandmother calms down, and they discuss how the changes to the dolls are beautiful, but that the child should ask next time.

The child protagonist is a brown-skinned girl with black curly hair. Her grandmother has white skin. The reader can infer from the family photos in the living room that her nana used to have red hair and looked very similar to the nesting dolls. The family photos also suggest that the child is of mixed race. While there are photos of the other family members, the nana, child, and a white cat are the only characters in the story.

All the Faces of Me, a beautiful story about the complexities of being human, is told in a way that is accessible to very young readers. Readers will be able to connect with the idea that the protagonist does not always feel like smiling, and this may prompt discussions with child readers about situations when they might feel happy, sad, peaceful, or any of the other emotions that are shown on the dolls. Poignantly, the smallest doll in the group was initially unpainted, and the child relates this doll to her older self, saying “There is one more. But I don’t really know her yet. She is still becoming…”(p. 23).

In addition to the child character, the nana also demonstrates a wide range of realistic emotions when she sees what the child has done to the dolls. The author clearly names these emotions, including mad, sad, and thoughtful. This approach helps the young reader to understand both perspectives in the conflict. The conflict resolution is handled well by the author as the nana and child talk about what has happened and their feelings. In doing so, they are able to come to a better understanding of each other. The story ends with a delightful illustration of the two characters curled up on an armchair, sharing dessert and smiling.

All the Faces of Me is a great book to share with a young child. It would make an excellent addition to preschool classrooms and elementary school libraries.