Yashvi Peeti is an aspiring writer and an aspiring penguin. She has worked as an editorial intern with Penguin Random House India and HarperCollins Publishers India. She is always up for fangirling over poetry, taking a walk in a park, and painting tiny canvases. You can find her on Instagram @intangible.perception
When you’re very young, your body is a vessel that allows you to move through the world. You’re so curious about it. It helps you play, taste good food, smell funny smells, and feel weird textures. But in the process of getting a little older, we’re exposed to opinions about bodies: ours and everyone else’s. At this tender age, when we’re just developing a relationship with our body, wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that it’s lovely? Our bodies are lovely, and so are everyone else’s. And if that feels like a reach, wouldn’t it be nice to know that diverse bodies exist and each is valid? This list of empowering body books is here to do just that. Putting this together made me feel so hopeful and excited for the readers these books will have, young and old!
Lovely by Jess Hong
This book truly is so lovely. It has only two to three words per page, and sometimes only one, making it ideal for very young readers. The illustrations are sweet, quirky, and very well thought out. With simple yet powerful imagery and only a handful of words, this book has had a lasting impact on me. I would absolutely gift it to a two-year-old learning about diverse bodies.
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell & David Catrow
Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy. She has buck teeth and a voice that sounds like a boa constrictor. Her grandma always tells her to stand tall, smile wide, and sing loud. This adorable book shows you that there is only one beauty standard you need to meet, and that is to be yourself. Molly takes her grandma’s word and moves through the world with grace, wonder, and pride.
Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder
Tyler Feder gets it right when he says, “bodies are cool.” We’re introduced to lots of different kinds of bodies. The illustrations are vibrant and detailed. With a book that should definitely be read out loud, we learn just how many bodies there can be. Some wonderful examples are:
“Growing bodies, aging bodies, features-rearranging bodies, magic ever-changing bodies. Bodies are cool!”
“Faint scars, bold scars, stripes-from-getting-bigger scars, marks-that-tell-a-story scars. Bodies are cool!”
Everybody Has A Body by Molli Jackson Ehlert & Lorian Tu
Everybody Has A Body introduces the concept of body neutrality. This inclusive picture book tries to show us that our bodies aren’t good or bad; they just are. The illustrations show the variety of things our bodies can do and how our different bodies choose to do things in different ways. There’s a note about body neutrality at the end, which further drives the wonderful message.
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Laxmi’s Mooch by Shelly Anand & Nabi H. Ali
Laxmi’s Mooch is such a sweet and heart-warming story of a young American Indian girl accepting her body hair. One day, while playing at recess, Laxmi’s friends tell her that she’d make the perfect cat because of her whiskers. They’re talking about her mooch (moustache). She goes home to ask her mom about it, who goes on to tell her about a lost list of gorgeous and badass hairy women. Laxmi goes to school the next day and notices that her friend has tiny blonde whiskers too. They come to the realisation that everybody has a mooch. Peter doesn’t have one yet, so they draw one on him. Soon, the entire class lines up to draw a moustache on themselves!
If you enjoyed this list, also check out Picture Books About Bodies, Fat Kids in Picture Books, and our children’s archives.
English (US) · 