My Heart Grows by Michael Arndt
My Heart Grows (Andrews McMeel, © 2021 Michael Arndt) is a die-cut board book for babies and toddlers which introduces the concepts of kindness to the littlest of beginning readers. The spreads are arranged in the order of the color spectrum and the rising chakras. Each die-cut forms an integral part of the illustration which exemplifies the simple sentence on the left about emotions which can make a heart grow. Each turn of a right page reveals a larger die-cut heart that when turned to the left frames the previous page’s color. This creates a terracing effect of concentric rainbow hearts.
I chose VAG Rounded for its soft, rounded forms which not only recall babies, but also the simple curves of the artwork and rounded corners of the board book. Most importantly, it felt friendly and gentle—the perfect typeface to convey actions such as caring, hugging, sharing, helping, and loving.
My Heart Grows is the first in my own series of M books, designed to promote the FUNdamentals of visual literacy.
