A Girl Like You – Empowering Picture Book
Disclosure: Thank you to Sleeping Bear Press for providing a copy. All opinions are my own.
Society often tells kids what they can or can’t do and how they should fit in the mold of societal expectations. It’s important to reinforce to kids that they should celebrate who they are, as they are. They should be empowered to feel this way.
A Girl Like You, a picture book by husband and wife team Frank and Carla Murphy, achieves this. Following on the heels of their successful book A Boy Like You, the authors write a loving tribute to girls to value their uniqueness and to encourage them to use their voices.
Here is an excerpt from the book:
Bold girl, speak up.
It’s okay to disagree with people.
Our differences teach us about one another.
It doesn’t matter how loud or quiet,
tall or small,
young or old you are.
Your thoughts and opinions matter.
Be clear about how you feel.
Choose kind friends,
friends who let you be YOU!
Be a kind friend, too.
Take turns.
Share.
Sometimes you’ll fight — that’s okay.
Do say sorry when you’re wrong or hurtful.
Don’t make a habit of saying sorry for no reason.
The excerpt above resonated with me because it’s something I wish I had known when I was a young girl. That my voice counted as much as everyone else’s. That it was okay to have my own opinions. To choose friends who didn’t try to change me. And to not default into apologizing when there was no need to do so. It wasn’t until I was an adult before I realized I didn’t have to conform to these expectations. I worked hard over the years to unlearn them.
I’m glad there are picture books like A Girl Like You that shows my daughter how being unique is a gift and to feel empowered to express herself.
I also appreciate that the illustrator, Kayla Harren, included a diverse set of kids in her pictures. When kids see diversity in books, it normalizes it so that it doesn’t seem strange or scary. Plus, children of all backgrounds can see themselves in the books they read.
A Girl Like You is ideal for readers ages 4-8 years old. Find the book on Amazon and SleepingBearPress.com.
Enter the A Girl Like You Picture Book Giveaway [CLOSED]
One lucky reader will win a copy of A Girl Like You. Enter via the entry form below. Giveaway is open to those ages 18 years+ with a U.S. mailing address. Good luck!
