Children's Bookshelf
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BIG
By Vashti Harrison
This book is outstanding! It follows a young girl’s journey towards self acceptance. It starts from her as a baby, happy and surrounded by her loving family. As she gets a little bigger, goes to school and goes out into the world more, she encounters people who make comments about her size and appearance. These comments are hurtful to her, no one deserves to feel judged or be bullied. Through introspection, courage and resilience, she reclaims her identity. She accepts herself for who she is and begins to love herself. She even metaphorically returns the hurtful words that she held onto, freeing herself of their burden. Eventually declaring “I like the way I am“… And she was good. This is an incredible book and most certainly deserves the Caldecott Medal. The illustrations are powerful and I love the topic. The artist is fantastic and managed to visually represent some very complex emotions and situations in a way that is deeply moving. This is going to be perfect for other bigger children, who will undoubtedly relate to this story and hopefully find it inspiring. It’s also important for other kids to read it and understand that their words do have power and that it’s not always a funny joke. Definitely a powerful book in the hands of the right teacher! If you’re looking for a book about self-love, body positivity, bullying, courage and the power of our words… This is a MUST READ!