Vanessa Brantley-NewtonRecensioni

Independent Reading Level: Grade 5-7
Awards: Nerdy Book Club Award (2020)

Independent reading by children in kindergarten or first grade.
Awards: None

Colorful, positive, and empowering- what a great collection of freeform poems for young readers! Such a visual and uplifting treat of a book.

Anyiaka admires her beautiful, smart family, but feels different than her mother, sister, and grandmother because of her darker skin tone: "How can I fit in with a family like this? They are good at everything. They have glamourous hair and golden brown skin. I stick out like a sore thumb." Anyiaka paints over the smallest, darkest nesting doll in her grandmother's set, but her grandmother tells her, "All of us different, but I am in you and you are in me....Our family has been workin' to make oonuh for years and years." Anyiaka understands, and the four women in the family share an embrace.

Corel and Photoshop illustrations showcase fabric patterns, prints, and textures, as well as art supplies and family photographs. There is an end note about the Gullah Geechee People.

See also: Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o

This book taught a great lesson about African American girls loving their bodies for the way it is and having confidence in the skin color they are born in.

I wish I had found this poetry book when it was published in 2020. It is an empowering book of poems, each page a new poem with a drastic change in the topic, the illustrations, and the "character" of the poem. Topics range from acne to body positivity to exploring. This is an empowering read for girls of all ages. This book can be read just like a normal picture book, or each poem is substantial enough to read one a day and discuss. The topics are relevant to girls everywhere. This book promotes girls to be confident in who they are, stand up for what they believe in, and believe they can make a difference.

Just Like Me is a collection of poems about the modern experience of being a human in a complex world. Each page spread examines a new experience, from kindness to friendship to body positivity. Girls of all sizes and colors jump off the page in Vanessa Brantley-Newton's vibrant illustrations, full of brushstrokes and collage. Running through the book is a sense of strength in being human, even with all our faults. This book is a call to action for anyone who needs a reminder to be confident, kind, and humble.

I like Alma and How She Got Her Name better....but this is a good comparison for embracing the meaning behind our names.

Several different poems and such about being a girl. Of all different races and backgrounds! It's a celebration of being female. I found myself in many of these. (Especially battling a pimple. That's me right now!)

Independent Reading Level: K-3
Nerdy Book Club Award (2020)

This collection of poems provides great insight from the perspective of a young black girl, with poems about self-love and Black being beautiful, as well as loving others and appreciation of femininity and family. I would use this book in a 2nd-4th setting for students to model their own poems after so that they can create their own poetry reflecting on themselves and their lives.

This book is an inspirational book for girls, it showcases so many beautiful stories about what it is to be a girl and what makes us unique, strong, and beautiful. This book is filled with poetry that is moving and directed towards self-love. Would be great for 2nd - 4th grade and is one I want to have in my classroom.

This book would be good for all grade levels. It can help teach fluency to all students as well as is a great example of poetry for students. This book is composed of poems from different girls' perspectives, talking about who they are and/or thing they like to do or wish they could do.

This book could be used for kinder-3rd graders, the contents are helpful and it is an easier read. This book was very cute and followed a story line about a little African American girl, and how everyone has unique differences but we are all people. This book is great for showing children diversity, as well as allowing children who are similar to the girl in the book to have a character to relate to.

A great collection of poems to give students. It focuses on different girls and their lives. It has great diversity in race and age, and demonstrates lots of life values and skills though the poems. I would say this is appropriate for upper elementary.

This book is a collection of poems. Each poem is a different little girl who has a voice just like the other girls. These poems show that no matter what race and age, we all have feelings of longing or want while learning to accept ourselves.

Let Freedom Singis actually a book for preschoolers dealing with the Civil Rights movement in the USA beginning in 1955. The song, This Little Light of Mine, is considered a Civil Rights song along with We Shall Overcome. This story interweaves the book pages with words from This Little Light of Mine and people singing. There are pictures of people letting their lights shine by standing up for rights and freedom. One of the people shining light on injustice included is Rosa Parks. The story says, “Rose Parks refused to move, She let her light shine.” Although the story words are few, the song lines repetitive, and the large hand-drawn colorful pictures bright, this book deals with a very serious subject. I am always in awe when authors convey truth and difficult subject matter in a child-friendly way even preschoolers can grasp. In the beginning of the book several songs and names of famous people are shared. The editors at Blue Apple Books continue by saying, “They are many others, unnamed and unsung, let their lights shine.”

Age: 7-10
Kansas National Education Association’s Reading Circle Commission

Reading level: 4-8 year
Nerdy Book Club Award

Fun, rhyming story about a gregarious matriarch who takes a very long time to bless the family's Sunday dinner. A good book for parents looking for picture books with mutli-ethnic characters.

Like many kids, Vanessa is nervous about the first day of school. She picks out her own outfit - "but the other kids didn't get Vanessa's in outfit the way she'd hoped they would." After a few more things go wrong (it takes Vanessa longer to write her name than all the other kids), Vanessa feels that "This day wasn't special. Her outfit wasn't special. And neither was Vanessa." That night Vanessa doesn't want to talk to her parents about it, but in the morning, her mom explains the meaning of her name: "Vanessa means 'metamorphosis'...I gave you a name that would help you become whoever you want to be." Sharing the meaning of her name at school helps Vanessa feel proud and comfortable.

Vibrant art is as colorful as a kindergarten classroom. Vanessa and her parents are Black; the teacher is white, and the other kids are Black and white.

See also: School's First Day of School by Adam Rex and Christian Robinson; Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor and Robin Preiss Glasser½

This picture book is a collection of poems for middle school girls about all kinds of girls. The poems cover topics from body acceptance, to love, and bullies. The poems are short and impactful. I think this would be a great book for girls to read as the main message is to be just as you are. It is diverse and culturally inclusive.

The poems in this book teach the empowerment of girls. No matter the cultural or racial background, this book appeals to girls of all ages. It is a celebration of similarities and of the worth of the individual.

Lovely illustrated picture book.

Little Vanessa put a smile on my face! Perfect story for first day of school jitters.

I really enjoyed the positive messages and the accompanying art is wonderful!
I am unsure how it is categorized: collage with overlaid illustrations?
In any case, it is vibrant, fun and interesting to take time to discover the reused papers making up the layers.

I loved this book. It teaches about diversity and shows self-love so that the readers can be more confident in themselves.