Two Speckled Eggs by Jennifer K. Mann (review)

Oh, no! Ginger’s mother has told Ginger that she has to invite all the girls in her class to her birthday party, which means she must include weird Lyla Browning (“who brought a tarantula in a pickle jar for Show-and-Tell”). It’s the other girls, however, who wreck all the games and disdain Ginger’s beloved silver and gold cake, leaving Ginger tearful. She has a cheering and bonding moment with Lyla, though, which turns into a solid connection when Ginger is won over by Lyla’s present—a cleverly crafted faux-nest with malted-milk-ball eggs. The plotline is a bit forced, with Ginger’s repugnance for Lyla changing more out of convenience than character; the message that people are more interesting than their popularity is a good one, though, and Lyla’s comfort with being her offbeat self (she’s happily looking at a ladybug through her magnifying glass during much of the party) emphasizes the point that it’s Ginger, not Lyla, who’s missing out here. The illustrations, pencil and gouache with a few digital elements and collage-type layering, has a wide airiness, with even the full-bleed scenes gleaming with white space, and spare dot-andsquiggle features turning big balloon kid heads into faces. Lyla gently stands out from the springily colored crowd in her more saturated brown outfit and glasses, underscoring the text’s championing of individuality. This will be superfluous for young Lylas, but young Gingers may benefit from a reminder that when it comes to inclusion, moms know what they’re talking about.