This book possesses a simple beauty, reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats. Simple likes but sort of stippled tone, like its been painted with a coarse brush.. The story itself is quite artistic. Very representative.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I great diverse picture book with lovely illustrations.

This is such a beautiful book - both the story and the amazing illustrations. I love that while most children will love the story for what it is on the surface their parents and other caregivers will hear the figurative language and understand something deeper. That, for me, is the sign of a children's book that will last the test of time! Loved how magic this book felt for my kids!

I really enjoyed this story about Afiya, who wears a white dress everyday. Whatever lovely thing she encounters, flowers, butterflies, tigers at the zoo, becomes imprinted on her dress, then disappears the next morning so she has a fresh slate for that day's memories. Every day is a new adventure, and Afiya carries the memories with her in a unique and beautiful way.
Now, let's talk about the artwork. Absolutely swoonworthy gorgeous! The illustrations are so lovely and vibrant, I want to frame so many pages! The art fits the text so well, and makes the story even better. Definitely recommended!

#AStoryAboutAfiya #NetGalley

I loved the art and the story. The overarching message of the story isn’t shoved at the reader (which is nice) but weaved into the story.

Beautiful story that should be included in a classroom library. I think that this book would lend itself to great classroom discussions, especially at middle school level. The illustrations are lovely and match well with the written poetry on the page.

beautiful illustrations that prominently feature an adorable black-skinned girl (yay! More diverse titles like this, please!) who enjoys daily nature-filled outings.
Lyrical text provides a quiet storyline that invites reflection--would be great for one-on-one reading as well as a read-aloud to a smallish group that can enjoy a quiet story.

Sweet and charming story for little. The illustrations are delightful and memorable. Afiya and her dress that holds the memories of childhood is an instant classic.

A story about Afiya is BEAUTIFUL. The illustrations are perfect. They are colorful, engaging and each page is a work of art.

I would buy this book for any child. I would put it in any classroom or library. It is a delightful little story about a little girl named Afiya, her little white dress magically collects all of the things she experiences in nature each day. This will be a favorite it our home, I can already tell!

The publisher made this book available for review on Netgalley. These thoughts and opinions shared here are my honest review.

The drawings in this book are absolutely amazing! I didn't understand that the dress collected memories until the end of the book when it was explained.

Gorgeous illustrations and beautiful prose abound in this children's picture book! Afiyah is a lovely girl with a magical dress. Her dress absorbs all of the sights she encounters in her life. I think little girls will especially love this book! 'A Story About Afiya' is probably best for 3-6 year olds.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

A Story about Afiya by James Berry is a sweet, little book to read to your children.

We meet Afiya as she's dancing in her white dress. We watch her participate in her life, going through sunflower fields and washing her clothes. Her memories of all of the adventures of her day get put onto her dress, until she comes home and it turns white again. We'll follow her in this book as she does marvelous, little things that will paint beautiful, little pictures.

This felt like a very mythical story. We watch as Afiya's surroundings affect her dress in beautiful, illustrated patterns. Tigers and flowers and fish, oh my! This book is more metaphorical and symbol based that plot driven, but that's okay! I thought it was absolutely stunning and beautiful. We don't always need an adventure to make the story good.

My biggest positive of this book (other than the beautiful symbolism) is that I learned that Afiya is a Swahili name that means health. It's a beautiful name!

My only potential negative is that young readers won't appreciate the symbolism, but I don't think they'll need to. This is just a sweet, pretty story.

Four out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Myrick Marketing and Media for an opportunity to read this little gem of a book!

What a beautiful book! The illustrations are some of the best I've seen. The story is lyrical and creative. This will be a story that families share together over and over again.

I genuinely loved this book! I’m almost speechless. Afiya and her dress are a wonderful inspiration for brown skin girls everywhere. She is beautiful, carefree, and enjoying the skin she’s in.

I loved the illustrations in this book!!! It is stunning!! I plan to buy this book for my school's library!

This is lovely. Even though it's full of symbolism and metaphor, it can also be read simply as a magical tale about a very special dress.

Afiya has a pretty white dress that she wears a lot. The funny thing is that it seems to collect things that get imprinted upon it: sunflowers, roses, fish... even the tigers at the zoo. She washes the dress out, and sometimes the impressions seem to linger. But they're always gone by the next morning, and the dress is ready to hold more new images.

It's obviously about memories, although I don't expect that all children are going to understand that. Still, it's a charming picture book with an appealing heroine and plenty of pretty pictures. I would recommend it to those looking for gentle stories about childhood and memory.

I love this book. It is full of imagination and creativity. Two very good things to share with young blossoming minds.

Afiya has one white dress that she tenderly launders each night and hangs on the clothes line to dry. When she awakens and goes through her day her special white dress collects and stores memories of her childhood. These memories etch themselves into the white fabric of her dress and bring Afiya much happiness.

Her plain white dress starts out like a blank canvas in the morning. Throughout the day it paints colourful portraits of Afiya's memories in vibrant colours. It collects pictures of sunflowers, roses, pigeons in flight, fish under the sea, tigers at the zoo and October falling leaves, just to name a few.


The illustrations are beautifully done as is the portrayal of Afiya. The storyline is surreal and unique. Kirkus Reviews states: "A unique and beautiful combination of poetic story and expressive art." That is spot on. I highly recommend this book that is written by the late Coretta Scott King and award-winning Jamaican poet James Berry.

This was a lovely book. I thoroughly enjoyed the colors and the illustrations. I felt it was a beautiful look at how settings and things around us can be imprinted on us.

Thank you for this ARC.

I want to give this book 5 stars, but format of the digital version made me feel like I was missing key parts of the book. I absolutely love the art and the plot. I first learned about this book from a blog and seeing more of it just makes me wish it were already out in the world.

The illustrations were absolutely beautiful. The author/illustrator took a simple premise: how this beautiful girl see's the world around her, and used her white dress as the backdrop for everything she experienced. How genius. The illustrator also got the hair texture just right, which for me, and my daughter is very important. I loved this and will share widely.