Review Detail

Gorgeously Me! is a children’s picture book about embracing yourself even when it isn’t easy. The book goes through different children being proud to show the world who they are and how being yourself is better not only when you embrace yourself but also when others embrace themselves and you.

What I Like:
When I saw that Jonathan Van Ness had written a children’s book, I knew I had to read it. The cover draws your attention and does a great job displaying the diversity in characters you are about to meet. This book has a diverse array of characters and families, you are bound to find someone you can connect with.

Something that I enjoyed about the book was that we weren’t given many clues to the gender of the children. It was left up to the reader to interpret as they wish because this piece of information was not vital to the story. I believe this adds to the message because these children are just happy to be themselves, whoever that may be in that time and those moments.

The images in this book are stunning and stand out. It's great that the book only has a few words on each page as the pictures catch the listener’s attention. The images are bright and colorful and each moment of joy on these children’s faces brought a smile to my face.

The closing of this book leaves the reader with the idea that it's our job to share our love for ourselves with others to turn gorgeously me into gorgeously us. This was something that stuck with me as I have found that when you embrace yourself it teaches others to do the same.

The author ends with a note, sharing why he wrote this book and what the intended goal is. This book delivers his message loud and clear and is a great way to start showing children how to celebrate themselves and their differences.

Final verdict:

Gorgeously Me is a wonderful, sweet story about embracing ourselves and helping others embrace who they are. It's a story that shows children that their differences make them unique and that their friends and family can uplift them in the moments it may be difficult to embrace those differences.