★ 04/03/2023
This ode to big self-love from Harrison (Sulwe) begins with a smiling, brown-skinned baby girl who has “a big laugh and a big heart/ and very big dreams.” Through a series of emotionally centered, affectionate digital images set against dreamy chalk pastel backdrops, this smiling, bouncing baby becomes a child who “learned and laughed and dreamed and grew and grew and grew. And it was good... until it wasn’t.” The dancing, playful child becomes the subject of cruel playground taunts when she gets stuck in a swing, and receives criticism from a teacher that “made her feel small.” Overwhelmed by others’ derision, the girl runs away from a dance rehearsal in which she’s made to wear plain colors and embody a mountain instead of a flower. A moving several-spread sequence, which includes a gatefold, portrays the overwhelmed child as increasingly cramped within the pages—and others’ judgments—before she gives the words back (“These are yours./ They hurt me”) and makes room for everything she loves (“I like the way I am”). Full of important truths about adultification and anti-fat bias, Harrison’s deceptively simple telling tenderly offers the self-affirming beliefs that kids are kids in any body and that it’s okay to take up space. An author’s note concludes. Ages 4–8. Agent: Carrie Hannigan, HG Literary. (May)
A Caldecott Medal Winner A Coretta Scott King Award Author and Illustrator Honor Book A New York Times Bestseller and Best Children's Book of the Year A National Book Award Finalist A Barnes & Noble Children’s Picture Book of the Year Nominee An Indie Bestseller An ALA-ALSC Notable Book for Children An SCBWI Golden Kite Award Winner A Black Caucus of ALA (BCALA) Best of 2023 List SelectionA Kids’ Indie Next List Pick An Amazon Best Book of the YearA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year A Booklist Best Book of the Year A Horn Book Fanfare List Selection A Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the YearA New York Public Library Best Book of the Year A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year A Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature Best Book of the Year A BookPage Best Picture Book of the YearAn NPR Books We Love Selection A Nerdies Selection A Rise Feminist Book Project Recommended Title A Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) Choices Selection An NCTE African American Read-In 2024 Selection An NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Award Book
* "Bestselling creator Harrison has produced another classic that belongs on every child’s shelf—this is one that will nurture little ones and help them to see the beauty in themselves.... A healing balm with the power to make the world a bit kinder."—Kirkus, starred review
* "This emotionally and socially resonant picture book stands out with its exceptional strength, beauty, and grace."—Booklist, starred review
* "This book resonates with a potential emotional impact that is immense....This inspiring and highly relatable title could be used with readers of any age to discuss topics of body image and self-love."—School Library Journal, starred review
* "[An] ode to big self-love... Full of important truths about adultification and anti-fat bias, Harrison’s deceptively simple telling tenderly offers the self-affirming beliefs that kids are kids in any body and that it’s okay to take up space."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Straightforward enough for even very young children to understand and appreciate, but with a vital message for adults too, Big is one of the year’s most exceptional picture books."—BookPage, starred review
* "The text is spare but pointed; Harrison’s emotionally powerful, pink-hued illustrations focus on her protagonist’s inner experience... This book offers readers an opportunity to remember that we all deserve love and respect—no matter what size we are."—Horn Book, starred review
"Consistently this book’s design works in service to the story, rendering what could have been didactic instead expansive and creative.... One of the best books of the year."—Betsy Bird, Fuse 8
“A gentle and loving book about what it means to be big. Harrison’s stunning art style perfectly encapsulates all the beautiful roundness of being a child, and encourages love and warmth for yourself if you are navigating the world as big.”—Tildy Lutts, Belmont Books (Belmont, MA)
"Vashti Harrison's succinct text is emotionally resonant and gracefully executed, as are her beautifully rendered digital and chalk pastel illustrations, both of which keep the focus clearly on the child and her rewarding journey to self-love."—Shelf Awareness
"Vashti Harrison's distinctive, charming illustrations underscore the powerful message of this book: that girls—especially girls of color—have a right to take up space and be embraced as they are."—NPR
★ 06/02/2023
PreS-Gr 2—A nameless Black girl, mostly depicted in a pink tutu with her hair in Afro puffs, is bright, clever, talented, and helpful. When she was little, being told she was "a big girl" was a compliment. Actually, being a big girl "was good…until it wasn't." Humiliations on the playground and at dance class lead to offhand insults from teachers and mockery from peers. Their words hit hard and won't let go. As her body image worsens, she grows larger on the page, clearly uncomfortable with the space she takes up. Her previously pink ballerina costume is painted "husky gray" by her dance teacher. She grows so big she takes up the entire page spread, and that is when she breaks. As her tears flood around her, all the words that have been said about her float to the top. She gathers close the pink words—creative, graceful, BIG—and leaves the gray words—MOOSE, COW, too big. She gives those gray words back, telling their speakers how they hurt her. As she shrinks back to her true size, a girl offers to help her change, and she responds, "I like the way I am." Adorned in optimistic pink again, she dances off, her positive words trailing behind her. This book resonates with a potential emotional impact that is immense. The girl is the only character in full color; her peers and teachers are shaded characters against a pale pink background, a stylization that reinforces her isolation. Never offered comfort by anyone else, she takes charge of her emotional well-being. VERDICT This inspiring and highly relatable title could be used with readers of any age to discuss topics of body image and self-love. Recommended.—Elizabeth Lovsin
★ 2023-05-16
A young Black girl who is told she is too big learns which labels to keep.
When she was a baby, being a “big girl” was good. But at a certain point, getting bigger becomes tinged with negativity. Adults are frustrated with the girl because of her size. Other children tease her. On the playground and in ballet, where she used to feel joyous and free, the girl is humiliated. On wordless spreads, all alone, the girl fills the tightly constricted pages, as if trapped by their borders. She lets her feelings out in tears that form a puddle of words—the criticisms of others as well as more positive ones: imaginative, creative, compassionate. Finally, she is able to see clearly, and she decides “to make more space for herself” by pushing the boundaries of the page in a powerful fold-out spread. After that, she knows how to separate the words that do and don’t belong to her and what to do with them. Textured illustrations in a soft, predominantly pink palette endear the protagonist to readers, while spare, carefully crafted text delivers an important message of self-acceptance and combating anti-fat bias that never feels preachy or overdone. Bestselling creator Harrison has produced another classic that belongs on every child’s shelf—this is one that will nurture little ones and help them to see the beauty in themselves.
A healing balm with the power to make the world a bit kinder. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-9)
