Big

by Vashti Harrison

This won the 2023 Caldecott Award (given for illustrations), which was why I borrowed it from the library.

The illustrations are adorable!  The story is such a good one.  It’s about a little girl who is bigger than her peers.  She gets stuck in a swing and people begin to make fun of her and call her names, then suggest ways she could change (to, in their eyes, improve).  We see her cringe, wilt, withdraw, and collapse in tears. 

She decides she likes herself just the way she is—kind, creative, graceful, caring, considerate, compassionate, imaginative, free, fun, smart, graceful, nimble....

What a great book for little ones who are learning about themselves and that the physical body is much less important than being having good character traits.

--nm