Children almost certainly don’t think of books as a gateway to a different world or an opportunity to learn something in a second-hand, entertaining manner. Granted, those two takeaways are a major reason why people enjoy reading books, but to some young elementary ages books are more of a thing that you have to do, and doing things under duress is very rarely cool. Simone is not the first illustrated book that mid to upper-elementary students will look for. Its indistinct cover implies nothing about the book’s plot. All you see is an Asian girl with a sketchbook and paintbrushes, wistfully looking out as waves of colors bend ahead of her.
The art is effective, the story is ok