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ANY BODY

A COMIC COMPENDIUM OF IMPORTANT FACTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT OUR BODIES

A whimsical, enlightening, and empowering volume to set readers on the path toward self-acceptance and body positivity.

A close-up look at how bodies work—and the emotions they evoke.

This book, translated from German, was informed by a 2020 survey conducted by von der Gathen and Kuhl on “how people see their bodies and how they feel others see them.” Topics include body parts (skin, hair, sexual organs), beauty ideals, gender identity, people’s feelings about their bodies, ways in which bodies change (puberty, age), body alterations (haircuts, tattoos), and more. A sense of acceptance and celebration for body differences permeates this joyful read. There are many naked bodies depicted in the comic-style illustrations, reducing the stigma of nudity and sending the much-needed message that bodies differ widely—and that’s OK. The images alternate between the goofy (hairy human ancestors laughing at their not-as-hairy descendants) and the more realistic (accurate depictions of skin features like pimples and scars), making for a good balance and ramping up reader appeal. Of particular note, the book includes sections on trans people, body size, and bodily autonomy; diagrams on body language; and information on the harms of social media filters and making hurtful remarks about others’ bodies. The people depicted are diverse in terms of race and ability, although light-skinned bodies are mostly given center stage.

A whimsical, enlightening, and empowering volume to set readers on the path toward self-acceptance and body positivity. (reader activities, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: May 9, 2023

ISBN: 9781776575466

Page Count: 88

Publisher: Gecko Press

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023

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GUTS

With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.

Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.

Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.

With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic

Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019

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BROWN GIRL DREAMING

For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share.

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  • National Book Award Winner

A multiaward–winning author recalls her childhood and the joy of becoming a writer.

Writing in free verse, Woodson starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught / / between Black and White.” But while evoking names such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, her story is also one of family: her father’s people in Ohio and her mother’s people in South Carolina. Moving south to live with her maternal grandmother, she is in a world of sweet peas and collards, getting her hair straightened and avoiding segregated stores with her grandmother. As the writer inside slowly grows, she listens to family stories and fills her days and evenings as a Jehovah’s Witness, activities that continue after a move to Brooklyn to reunite with her mother. The gift of a composition notebook, the experience of reading John Steptoe’s Stevieand Langston Hughes’ poetry, and seeing letters turn into words and words into thoughts all reinforce her conviction that “[W]ords are my brilliance.” Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned.

For every dreaming girl (and boy) with a pencil in hand (or keyboard) and a story to share. (Memoir/poetry. 8-12)

Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-399-25251-8

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014

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