Just Right - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

Maria Marshall
2 minutes ago
3 min read

I wish I could share this book with my grandparents and my mother....and of course my beloved husband - they were the ones who always supported me, loved me, and made me feel 'just right.' Maybe they will know. This is a truly amazing debut picture book which will touch the hearts of everyone, young and old alike.

Book cover - a boy, holding a package, sitting on the shoulder of his uncle with a car up on a lift in a mechanic's shop in the background. Orange cone and tool boxes below the car.

Just Right

Author: Torrey Maldonado

Illustrator: Teresa Martinez

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books (January 20, 2026)

Ages: 4-8

Fiction

Themes:

Family, difficult relationships, caregivers, uncles, and self-esteem.

Synopsis:

Award-winning novelist Torrey Maldonado’s heartwarming picture book debut celebrates loving caregivers and highlights the powerful impact they can have on the life of a child.

Toby’s mom always says there are people that make you feel just right. And while his dad can be hard to please, it’s a different story with his amazing uncle. Uncle showers Toby with smiles, hugs, and kind words, and his garage is like a second home to Toby—there’s even a chair with Toby’s name on it next to Uncle’s desk! Yes, Toby can always count on Uncle to step up and make him feel just right.

Opening Lines:

Me and Ma look the through the

crowded store for the right gifts.

What I LOVED about this book:

With an amazing succinctness, Torrey Maldonado succeeds in capturing the main character's range of emotions, from excitement to depression and self-doubt, and finally to completely feeling loved. There is a spectacular synergy between the sparse text and the colorful, detailed, and emotionally powerful digital illustrations. I love how Teresa Martínez captures the busy, crowded shopping center, and the onslaught of sensory inputs from lights, advertising signs, and noise in the opening spread.

Internal image - on the left, a display of socks sits next to banner for caps, other hanging advertising, and a bunch of other shoppers. On the left, a young boy and his mom look around for gifts. Up and down escalators cross in thr background.

Text © Torrey Maldonado, 2026. Image © Teresa Martínez, 2026.

Trying to find the perfect - 'just right' - gift for his father and uncle, Toby is captivated by a sock display. But he's uncertain if these are the right gifts. His mother's guidance that "If it feels right to you, it's good," convinces him to choose a dotted pair for his dad and a stripped pair for his uncle.

Despite Toby's enthusiasm and hope that his father will say, "I love it and I love y---," his father dismisses the gift and turns back to his phone. Toby's desperate hope and crushed self-confidence is poignantly and powerfully conveyed in the sparse text and expressive illustrations.

Internal spread - on the left, a boy offers his dad a present and the dad dismissively holds a pair of socks in his palm and a phone in the other hand. On the right, sitting on a couch, dad focuses on his phone, while mom consoles a sad boy holding the socks.

When Toby retreats to his room, questioning his choice and perhaps himself, his mom wisely notes that, "If a person ain't right, they won't make you feel right." While true, those subtle or not so subtle snubs, derogatory comments, or worse worm their way into a child's head and play havoc on their self-esteem.

If a child is lucky, they have a special someone like Toby's Uncle. When things aren't right at home, or in Toby's world (a neighbor's broken window and a torn-up playground), Uncle's garage is a safe haven. A place where Toby is appreciated, loved, and 'just right.' A place where Toby brightens the day and makes everything wonderful by his very presence. This is such a precious gift that I wish for everyone.

Internal spread - on the left, close-up of Uncle, holding an oil stained cloth radiating joy with a giant smile. On the right, Uncle scoops up the boy in a giant on-armed hug, with with a green outline of shop items behind him.

Seeing these spreads in juxtaposition drives home the wonderfully special power of a person(s) who, family or not, can make a child feel 'just right.' I love all the ways the Torrey Maldonado and Teresa Martinez use to portray Toby & Uncle's relationship. I'm going to leave you to all the amazing ways that Uncle offers Toby an accepting, encouraging, loving, sincere, and consistent relationship and powerful presence. I love the sweet shop addition that Teresa Martinez included in the final spread. The ending is tender and affirming without being pedantic. Well-earned and 'just perfect.' Providing a reminder that our every action and reaction has an effect on others and a wonderful mantra for all readers that "to the right people, who you are and what you do are just right," this is a stunning ode to caregivers and role models impacting children's lives with unconditional love and acceptance.

Resources:

take a moment to write or create a thank you for the special people in your life that make you feel 'just right.'

draw a picture or write a story about a time when someone made you feel accepted and 'just right.'

If you missed my interview with Torrey Maldonado on Thursday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.