I Am Me: A Book of Authenticity - Susan Verde - ★★★★★

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AUTHOR: Susan Verde
ILLUSTRATOR: Peter H. Reynolds
GENRE: Children's Picture Book
PUBLICATION DATE: September 27, 2022
RATING: 5 sparkly stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟


In a Nutshell: A beautiful picture book with a very important message for little ones. Awesome content, awesome illustrations. Much recommended!


I was just exploring some picture books at my library when my glance fell on this adorable cover. Though not a big fan of self-help/inspirational books, I don’t mind picture books using inspiration and affirmations to help children. And this turned out to be one of the very best!

In a world that encourages uniformity and conformity, here’s a book that advocates individuality, that tells you to be yourself, loudly and proudly. At the same time, it also stresses on the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people who accept you as you are.

The book is written in first person, so it is very easy for little readers to put themselves in the shoes of the narrator. The content is written in simple words, but every single sentence speaks volumes! I love how practical these affirmations are. Everything is not merely idealistic but actually doable.

The illustrations are a perfect complement to the message. With a lion motif guiding the little narrator to her roar, the colours pop up strongly on every page. The human characters are diverse and inclusive. Each page contains just 1-2 lines, so the words don’t dominate the page, allowing the outstanding art to shine.

Much, much recommended to every little one aged 4 and above. This would be a wonderful book for every child’s personal library collection as well as for classroom discussions on embracing your own true self instead of trying to fit in. Perhaps adults also need to remember this message because the adult world is much more demanding in this sense. Given the beauty of the message and the graphics,. This book would make a fabulous gifting option as well.

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