diverse picture book (getting dressed; comfort objects (pants/blankets); weddings / preschool ages 4 and up).
* Features diverse characters: Jameson and his family happen to be African-American; most of the wedding party and guests are also black but there is a mix of lighter-skinned and dark-skinned/straight-haired people present as well.
* would work well for a preschool storytime; there are some pages with a significant amount of text, so I would rate this for the older preschool-to-Kinder range (4-6 years). The story is sweet and pretty action-oriented for a book about weddings, and the illustrations are charming and large enough to share with an audience. ( )

Recommended by Stephanie T (https://robbinslibrary.wordpress.com/2018/01/01/2017-best-books-from-robbins-lib...)

Jameson only ever wears green pants - but when his cousin Armando and his fiancee Jo ask him to be in their wedding, he says yes. Then he finds out he has to wear a tuxedo - which means wearing black pants! What will Jameson do? He finds a compromise that pleases everyone. (It helps that he has a major crush on Jo and her eyes like "summer stars.") ( )

It took me a little while to recognize Kraegel as the author/illustrator of a favorite of mine, the oddly sweet Song of Delphine. This has a similar illustration style, but a very different story although Kraegel definitely adds his own twist to it.

Curly-headed Jameson wears green pants, always. With them on, he can do anything including dance like there's no tomorrow! He's quite skilled at getting rid of any non-green pants and can't imagine he will ever need to change his color scheme. But then his cousin Armando shows up with his fiancee, Jo. Jameson is smitten and thrilled to be asked to be in their wedding. But then his mom breaks the news to him - he will have to wear a tuxedo. Tuxedos are black. Including the PANTS. Jameson is torn between his favorite color and being part of Jo's wedding - until he finally decides what is most important to him.

SPOILER

He wears the black pants. Yep! But when it's time for dancing, he whips them off and underneath...are his green pants! (no, they're not underwear.) There are a number of things I like about this story. One is that Jameson (and his mom) chose not to stick to his own preferences and adapted to what Jo wanted for her wedding. He found a nice compromise even though it involved giving up something he really, really wanted - i.e. wearing his green pants all the time. I liked the message that it was more important for Jameson to do what Jo wanted in her wedding than "be himself" all the time. Like I tell the teens, you have to coexist!

Another thing I like is how the illustrations portray a predominantly brown background. Many "diverse" books have a token black family, surrounded by a sea of white faces. Kraegel's art shows a loving, supportive community and family. There are some white faces in the church crowd at the wedding, but they're a minority, not the focus.

Verdict: Not necessarily a storytime choice, although it might go well with a dancing theme, this is a great story to read with kids to help them think outside the box.

ISBN: 9780763688400; Published 2017 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Green Pants a funny story about a funny boy that loves a certain article of clothing. The book does a good job of NOT stereotyping but capturing the child that lives in all of us. We all remember having that one thing we were obsessed with as a kid. For me it was my action figures and rock collection; for Jameson it was his Green Pants. I like how the book goes about problem solving in a unique way. The book introduces to kids that there's an unconventional way to do anything and there's nothing wrong with that. I mean only a kid would say, 'well I can't wear green pants on the outside....but I can still wear the pants!' Getting their way; without causing trouble, every child's dream. ( )

Green pants was a cute story about a boy who would only wear green pants. There are 2 reasons why I liked this book. This book was very realistic for children. They tend to have something similar to the pants that make them feel as if they can do anything. Children can relate to this book very well, including possibly being in a wedding. Another reason I liked this book was because of the ending. I loved how he chose to wear the tuxedo, but underneath he still had his green pants on. That is something that could be a surprise to some children, but a guess to others. The main idea of this book was that there can be tough decisions to make in life, but sometimes you can make a decision that pleases everyone. Such as wearing your green pants underneath of your tuxedo! ( )