LitPick Review
Petunia loves to be perfect: in school, at dance class, and at home. When she overhears her classmates calling her “Petunia the Perfectionist”, she is elated. After all, who wouldn’t want to be a perfectionist? When Petunia tells her mom about her new nickname, her mom has an opposite reaction. She tries to explain to Petunia that it is okay to make mistakes, and in fact, they help us grow. Petunia, however, does not agree and continues to strive for perfection each and every day. Finally, with a bit of embarrassment, Petunia loses focus during her guitar lesson and makes a mistake. What will her friends think? How about her teacher? Petunia is surprised by everyone’s reaction to her musical mistake, and she learns an important lesson about what it means to be perfectly imperfect.
Opinion:
Petunia the Perfectionist is a delightful picture book highlighting the importance of letting ourselves learn from our mistakes. Ellie Beykzadeh’s illustrations are bold and depict the characters' emotions throughout the text. The use of shadows contributes directly to the tone of the story and emphasizes Petunia’s feelings on each page. Paired with Beykzadeh’s colorful, full-page illustrations, Marissa Bader’s text will resonate with anyone who worries about making mistakes or has difficulty letting go of perfection. Page design and text placement play a major role in making this book stand out. The themes of this story include learning from mistakes, self-love, and even friendship. Perfect for a back to school read aloud, Petunia the Perfectionist will remind everyone that being perfect is impossible, and most importantly, that accepting yourself and others, with or without mistakes, can allow us to learn new things and have fun along the way.
