Most kids have five senses. Rosie has six.
Eleven-year-old Rosie can sense colors—and she thought everyone else could, too. After the first meeting of her middle school’s math league ends in confusion, Rosie wonders why nobody seems to know that every letter, number, and song has a special hue of their own. While her best friend Harper is too busy impressing the cool kids to care, Rosie befriends Yara, a lonely classmate who informs her that this condition has a name—synesthesia! But when Rosie’s secret gets out, rumors start to spread. The math league’s first tournament is only a few weeks away, and no one trusts the girl with “brain colors” anymore.
With difficult friendships and a competitive academic club to navigate, can Rosie find the courage to embrace her unique gift after all?
Written and Illustrated by Maya Henderson
Little, Brown Young Readers/ Little Brown Ink
September 22, 2026
248 pages
Ages 8-12
Praise for Brainbow
“Readers are welcomed into Rosie’s vibrant world of seeing colors in music and letters. The graphic format wonderfully suits this story of complex middle school social dynamics. Rosie’s beautiful inner world is externalized through colorful full-page spreads and varying layouts that pull in movement, sound, and words. Middle grade readers will be absorbed by the social stories layered throughout.”
School Library Journal, Starred Review“I was thrilled to see synesthesia come to life in such a vibrant and captivating way! I loved going on Rosie’s journey as she learned more about her colorful world while navigating the often perilous one of sixth grade friendships. Maya Henderson even made math cool!”
Wendy Mass, bestselling author of A Mango Shaped Space
“In addition to her appealingly expressive figure designs, Henderson uses the visual format of comics very effectively to demonstrate Rosie’s neurodivergence, with color auras around letters and numbers and images of Rosie’s impressionistic drawings of music. The changing nature of friendships in middle school is a common theme in middle-grade comics, but Henderson sets hers apart with an illuminating account of a condition that’s not often covered for this age group. A great choice for kids who like character-driven comics.”
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