Nothing that we stay quiet about will ever get better. It’s all I can think of as I watch the children I teach adjust to the results of the 2024 presidential election. Older ones share theories they heard on TikTok. Younger ones cheer or mourn the same way their parents do. Things feel shaky and uncertain, and it’s hard to know exactly what to say, but I believe we can’t be silent. Each person, no matter their role in the community, has to decide what is most important and needs to start speaking up. This is where we activate, where the keepers of the books start gathering titles and paying close, close attention to which voices are lifted in their recommendations. Of course, this must always be the mandate, but it’s much more important now.
Body diversity and inclusion are my personal highest aspirations. It seems small but it affects every interaction from childhood on. Sure, we have a president-elect who has openly and frequently mocked people for the things their bodies can do and the way their bodies look, but regardless of who runs the country, children have ridiculed others about their appearance for centuries. This is often not addressed or dismissed as kids being kids. Sound familiar? This can’t change without a concerted effort. When children make innocent comments or ask honest questions about bodies, they are typically shushed by a mortified adult. Unwittingly, the message is passed that body diversity is shameful and bad.
This work of celebrating body diversity has to start young. Like, really young. The message that all bodies are good bodies needs to be as obvious to kids as basic tenets like “be nice,” and “wash your hands.” This is where the librarians come in. In my role as a school librarian, I can normalize different bodies in the characters I share and avoid stories with unchecked negative messages. We are positioned to change the narrative in our tiny corners of the world, and sometimes, that’s all we can do. Luckily, publishing is stepping up and giving us stories that either explicitly or indirectly reinforce body neutrality at the very least. Read on below to see some of my favorite picture books about bodies.
Eyes That Speak to the Stars by Joanna Ho and Dung Ho
This follow-up to the Ho duo’s Eyes That Kiss In the Corners is just as lyrical and lovely as the first. A hurtful drawing wounds a young boy, and when he confides in his father, he is reassured that his eyes are amazing gifts that connect him to his family and his heritage, present and past. Poetic words and fantastic illustrations make this book shine.
Big by Vashti Harrison
I was sitting in the school library when I read that Big won the Caldecott in January 2024, and I burst into tears. A fat child on the cover of an award-winning book was something I couldn’t have dreamed of even five years ago. This beautiful title is about a young ballerina who has to decide what words she will keep and which she will give back as she writes her own story about who she is. The images and narrative tackle fatphobia blatantly. It’s a revelation.
Beautifully Me by Nabela Noor and Nabi H. Ali
Here we have another explicit calling out of fatphobia and the confusing messages that adult body talk can send to children. Zubi is full of joy in the morning, but as the day goes on, witnesses conversations where people are critical of their own and others’ bodies. By dinner, she is confused and hurt, but instead of internalizing her pain, she brings it to light, helping both her family and herself.
When Charley Met Emma by Amy Webb and Merrilee Liddiard
Charley and Emma move around differently and this doesn’t change their friendship. The narrative addresses directly how encountering differences can feel strange at first, and honors the emotions of the hurt party while teaching children empathy and giving them words to describe what they’re experiencing without insults. Notes for adults in the back help facilitate more important conversations.
Don’t Touch My Hair by Sharee Miller
A consent lesson for kids and an important reminder for adults. In this story, our heroine goes from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of space, trying to find a place where she doesn’t have fingers in her hair against her will. The most important part of this book? The reminder that standing up for your bodily autonomy does not make you the enemy! Friends can say no to each other and remain friends. This needs to be explicitly taught, even to most adults I know.
We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch, Anne McGuire, Eduardo Trejos
This bright and colorful book reinforces the many different ways that people move through the world and highlights a community of many different abilities working together to remove barriers for all. Alt text images and zoom-in features in the ebook truly include all readers. This is one that you’ll want to sit with and explore for a while. Check out the kid-friendly glossary, as well!
Every Body: A First Conversation About Bodies by Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, Tequitia Andrews
This one is a board book because it is never too early to reinforce that bodies are different. This series (which also includes the highly recommended Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race) allows human diversity to be normalized from the youngest age. Seriously, start reading these titles while little ones are still in the womb.
Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
I’ve loved Tyler Feder’s art for a long time, so I was ecstatic when I heard that she was publishing a book about bodies. This has been around since before there was a trend of addressing these topics in publishing. Feder’s illustrations are so varied and show joy shining through in every person, no matter what they look like or how they move or how they eat. The dedication to inclusion here is amazing.
Everybody Has a Body by Molli Jackson Ehlert and Lorian Tu
This is a new title for me, but I am overjoyed that I found this author and illustrator. Like Bodies Are Cool, Everybody Has A Body has illustrations that beg to be pored over, with delightful details and enough diversity that many kids will be able to find something familiar in the pages. Bodies of every size and shape doing all different things—this is the world I want my kids to grow up in. Make bodies neutral again.
Hopefully, you’ve found a book or two to pique your interest. Whether you’re looking to read with a young person or you just want to heal you inner child, these titles are a great place to start. Happy reading!
Related Reading:
11 Body Positive Children’s Books
Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Picture Books To Support The Monumental Task of Loving Yourself
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