The Me I Choose To Be

by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, Regis and Kahran Bethencourt (Artist)

Overview

In this "exquisite" (Shelf Awareness) "affirming" (Kirkus), and "empowering visual essay" (Publishers Weekly) the bestselling author of I Love My Hair! joins forces with the dynamic photography duo behind Glory to create a stunning celebration of the many things you can be!

What will you choose to be? 
A free spirit? 
A weaver of words? 
A star dancing across the night sky? 
A limitless galaxy? 

The possibilities are endless in this uplifting ode to the power of potential. With lyrical text by bestselling author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley and images by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt—the team behind CreativeSoul Photography—each page of The Me I Choose To Be is an immersive call for self-love that highlights the inherent beauty of all Black and brown children. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316461542
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/19/2021
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	253,800
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Natasha Tarpley is the author of the bestselling picture book I Love My Hair!, as well as other acclaimed titles for children and adults. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and numerous other awards and she is the cofounder of Voonderbar! Media, a project seeking to expand the depictions of children of color in media. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois.
Regis and Kahran Bethencourt are the husband and wife duo and the imaginative forces behind CreativeSoul Photography. With more than ten years of working with hundreds of children, families, and brands, they specialize in child and lifestyle photography while incorporating authentic visual storytelling. They live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Editorial Reviews

09/27/2021

Striking, imaginative photographic portraits of Black youth by Regis and Kahran Bethencourt, embellished in Photoshop, fill the pages of this picture book, which shows the figures’ unlimited potential. A mantra-esque refrain unites Tarpley’s rhyming statements throughout, encouraging readers to embrace their multitudes: “My creativity and curiosity/ flow without end,/ and if I meet an obstacle,/ I just begin again.” Metaphors beginning with “I am” open each page, centering Black children as “a maker, a creator,” “joyful,” “a tiny bird,” “the night sky,” and more. Suitably themed photos portray the models adorned with props, fanciful outfits, and intricate hairstyles against richly colored backgrounds, often in space, emphasizing a speculative Afro-futurist element. An empowering visual essay. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Me I Choose to Be:
A 2021 Shelf Awareness Book of the Year
A 2021 Chicago Public Library Best Picture Book Pick

"Imagination, ingenuity and passion collide on the pages of this inspiring tribute to children of color. The poetic composition from Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (I Love My Hair!; The Harlem Charade) coupled with the ingenious photography of Regis and Kahran Bethencourt (Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty) results in an exquisite book that trumpets the magic and unlimited potential of young lives...The Me I Choose to Be is a striking book with a powerful question for everyone: Who is the me you choose to be? "—Jen Forbus, Shelf Awareness

"A mantra-esque refrain unites Tarpley’s rhyming statements throughout, encouraging readers to embrace their multitudes....An empowering visual essay."
 —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2021-07-27
Envision a world where children are dreamers and explorers of themselves, and you have this book.

Tarpley’s latest picture book is a thoughtfully written poem penned to affirm Black children. She gives Black children permission to investigate their inner and outer landscapes and supports their choices in determining how they show up in the world. Tarpley’s text declares: “I am hope”; “I am a tiny bird”; “I am light.” These words and phrases are powerful analogies and metaphors for strength, resiliency, and freedom. Other metaphors invite children to see themselves as a “free spirit” who moves “to the rhythm of my own heartbeat” and a “gardener” who plants “dreams the world will know.” The photo-collage illustrations are full of color and movement, each one with a beautiful Black child front and center. Many of the images are out of this world—sometimes literally—and styled to represent the ideas from the stanzas they accompany. One child is a “yet unnamed” superhero surrounded by flames; another is a star dancing across the night sky; and two children who represent sadness wear golden tears frozen on their small brown cheeks. The images are a blend of the realistic and the fantastic, with hints of Afro-futurism. Moreover, the ideas are not presented as static states of being: The children are free to move fluidly from one idea to the next, as evidenced in the refrain: “My creativity and curiosity / flow without end, / and if I meet an obstacle, / I just begin again.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An affirming celebration of individuality and cultural appreciation. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews