A girl uses her invisible crown—all the memories and interests that shape her—to empathize and heal a rift with her best friend.

I checked the mirror. It was all there, as usual. My invisible crown.

My happy things and my sad things. My people and my places. My favorite flavors and my sweetest smells.

And Xavier, my best friend since forever.

But when the narrator gets to school, Xavier is acting differently. Her crown feels heavy on her head, yet with empathy and courage, she envisions Xavier’s crown—all the happy memories and grief and tensions he carries with him every day. She gifts his crown to him, bridging the gap between them and ending their argument—and allowing them to see all the different crowns of the people in their community.

With electric, eye-catching illustrations, Invisible Crown reminds us how compassion and communication tie us to one another, and that no burden is too heavy when shared with the people who love us.

About the Author: 

Katie Yamasaki is a muralist and picture book creator in Brooklyn, New York. She has painted more than ninety murals around the world, and her most recent book is Ripples.