Shadra Strickland

Please, Louise by Toni Morrison is a picture book about a parent teaching a child how to trust the world, even when it seems dangerous and scary. The story follows a girl as she walks to the library just as a rainstorm is brewing. The route there is full of unknown, scary things and shifty looking people.

But the story isn't about finding safety and solace in the library. Sure, that's part of it, and libraries should be welcoming places. But it's a bigger message — learning to trust people, show more and learning to see the best in people, rather than danger.

Now stop and think for a moment about who wrote the book, Toni Morrison, a nobel prize winning black poet. It was published in a year marked by a number of senseless murders of black youth by white police officers. Sure, the illustrator, Shandra Strickland opted to make the main character possibly Asian, but the message is still there: please, Louise, I hope you can live in a world where you can trust your neighbors because you should be able to. show less

One comes to this book with high expectations given the mother/son author team combined with the wonderful artistic talents of illustrator Shadra Strickland. It was only the illustrations, however, that didn’t disappoint me.

Louise is a little girl who gets some advice from an unnamed adult, who assures her that “If you are sometimes lonely or sometimes sad, know that the world is big but not so bad.” Louise may be frightened, but “Scary thoughts are your creation when you have no show more information.”

Louise is directed to a place she can count on to find out about the world - the public library: “Here is shelter from any storm. In this place you are never alone. These books are loyal friends, helping you explore, dream, discover, think, learn, and know much, much more.”

Louise leaves the library with a wagon full of books and she is smiling:

"Fear and sadness - where did they go?
Louise doesn’t care. Louise doesn’t know.”

Evaluation: I found the quality of the verse to be very disappointing. In addition, the message conveyed won’t please all parents, who might like their children to exercise caution when they don’t know if, for example, a dog or a person on the street or an abandoned car or house - all of which Louise passes by on her journey - may in fact represent dangers that should not be explored. But the watercolor-and-gouache paintings by Shadra Strickland are adorable. show less

I absolutely loved this book. The perspective was incredible and the message was powerful and beautifully delivered, not thinly veiled by the story. I loved that the language was patterned and followed an ABAB rhyming scheme. Rhymes appeal to children and make the story more engaging and more memorable. The illustrations truly enhance the story by adding to the overall mood. In the beginning of the story the illustrations are darker and contain less color, but as the story goes on and Louise show more discovers the power of books, the illustrations become brighter and more rich in color. The point of view was in second-person, which made the book feel as though it was a story being told by a caring adult; it felt very comfortable and familiar. The message of this book is that while the world can be gray, it can also be what you make it. Louise is able to make her world happier because she knows the power books can give her. She knows that books teach her how to recognize her emotions, in addition to all of the other wonderful knowledge they give her. show less

In my opinion, Please, Louise is a fantastic book that I really enjoyed reading. The language present throughout the book is super easy for younger readers to follow with rhyme schemes that interconnect each sentence. The book starts off following the life of Louise, who is afraid of everything. The first illustration shows her leaving her house just before a rainstorm, equipped with rainboots and an umbrella. This picture is extremely fitting for the message being portrayed, since the show more author wants the reader to reminisce on a time in which they were in a difficult situation and didn’t know how to resolve it. The narrator follows up this request with a powerful quote, reminding both Louise and the reader that “If you are sometimes lonely or sometimes sad, know that the world is big but not so bad”. This urges both the main character and the reader to broaden their perspective of things and think outside of the box in order to see the word in a more optimistic way. In the illustrations that follow, Louise is seen walking in her neighborhood, passing by things that may initially be seen as scary or unfamiliar to younger children such as street performers, dogs, and an abandoned house. One of the main reasons why I recommend this book so much is the fact that the narrator follows up with an optimistic perspective after each item is pointed out. For example, Louise is illustrated walking past a junkyard where she thinks to herself “Is that a junkyard? Or a dangerous trap, where ghosts live and monsters nap?” and the narrator follows up by saying “Scary thoughts are your creation, when you have no information”. This reminds Louise that although unfamiliar sights may seem scary, it’s up to her to become more informed so she can alter her perspective on it.
The use of light/dark colors matches Louise’s mood throughout each scene. She is seen wearing a bright yellow rain jacket and boots along with a red wagon and yet her unfamiliar surroundings are illustrated in dark hues, such as gray or black. This enhances the story as it matches her apprehensive thoughts as she travels through her unfamiliar neighborhood. She finally reaches the library, where she discovers that she can read books to “explore, dream, discover, think, learn, and know much, much more”. The hues used in the illustrations that follow once she enters the library shift towards a variety of colors, representing that she feels safe and open after acquiring knowledge on the things that initially frightened her.
The final scene is my favorite, where she is in her now fully-colored neighborhood reading books with the dog she once found scary.
The big message that the author wants the reader to take away is not just about reading imaginative books and finding comfort in going to a library. Rather, it’s about encouraging reading to young children so that they can see past their misinterpretations on things to form a positive outlook on the world. Toni and Slade Morrison did a fantastic job accomplishing this, creating a great book that I would recommend for all ages. show less