Big by Vashti Harrison
Feb. 4th, 2024 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Once there was a girl. She had a big laugh and a big heart and very big dreams.
The first picture book written and illustrated by award-winning and bestselling creator Vashti Harrison traces a child’s journey to self-love and shows the power of words to both hurt and heal. With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.
Once there was a girl with a big laugh, big heart and big dreams, who was polite and tidy and ate all her food. She grew and grew and grew and it was all good until one day it wasn’t. When something awful happens in the playground, she becomes more aware of her size and how people are now reacting to it differently, which has an impact on her self-esteem until one day, she decides to make space for herself …
Vashti Harrison’s self-illustrated picture book is a beautifully executed look at fat bias and its impact on young children. The text is sparse with the focus on the images of the nameless little girl as she endures the taunts and well-meaning but still hurtful comments from adults. It’s wonderfully done and very moving such that I am still thinking about it. I’d definitely read more of Harrison’s work on the strength of this.
Harrison has an author’s note at the end of this book where she talks about the impact that being big as a child had on her and particularly how with children it leads to adultification. Her decision to use pink throughout the book is because as a child she felt that she couldn’t wear it because it would call attention to her. All of this adds a personal touch to what I think this is a really wonderful picture book.
The nameless little girl at the heart of the story is an absolute delight - she loves dancing and does everything that she is supposed to as a child but gradually Harrison shows that she becomes aware that she is bigger than the other children. The playground scene where this is brought home to her is really painful, noticeably because of the reaction of the teacher who helps her and the hurtful comments from the other children. The way Harrison reveals the impact of this on the girl as she internalises the comments and worries about her size is beautifully done and very moving in the way Harrison uses the illustrations to make the point - to the point that I still think about some of the images. However the girl is not a victim in this book, the story is about how she takes steps to make space for herself and I have to say that I also found this very moving.
All in all I thought it was just an exquisite story that’s beautifully executed and it’s really stayed with me since reading it.
The Verdict:
Vashti Harrison’s self-illustrated picture book is a beautifully executed look at fat bias and its impact on young children. The text is sparse with the focus on the images of the nameless little girl as she endures the taunts and well-meaning but still hurtful comments from adults. It’s wonderfully done and very moving such that I am still thinking about it. I’d definitely read more of Harrison’s work on the strength of this.
BIG was released in the United Kingdom on 11th May 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
The first picture book written and illustrated by award-winning and bestselling creator Vashti Harrison traces a child’s journey to self-love and shows the power of words to both hurt and heal. With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.
Once there was a girl with a big laugh, big heart and big dreams, who was polite and tidy and ate all her food. She grew and grew and grew and it was all good until one day it wasn’t. When something awful happens in the playground, she becomes more aware of her size and how people are now reacting to it differently, which has an impact on her self-esteem until one day, she decides to make space for herself …
Vashti Harrison’s self-illustrated picture book is a beautifully executed look at fat bias and its impact on young children. The text is sparse with the focus on the images of the nameless little girl as she endures the taunts and well-meaning but still hurtful comments from adults. It’s wonderfully done and very moving such that I am still thinking about it. I’d definitely read more of Harrison’s work on the strength of this.
Harrison has an author’s note at the end of this book where she talks about the impact that being big as a child had on her and particularly how with children it leads to adultification. Her decision to use pink throughout the book is because as a child she felt that she couldn’t wear it because it would call attention to her. All of this adds a personal touch to what I think this is a really wonderful picture book.
The nameless little girl at the heart of the story is an absolute delight - she loves dancing and does everything that she is supposed to as a child but gradually Harrison shows that she becomes aware that she is bigger than the other children. The playground scene where this is brought home to her is really painful, noticeably because of the reaction of the teacher who helps her and the hurtful comments from the other children. The way Harrison reveals the impact of this on the girl as she internalises the comments and worries about her size is beautifully done and very moving in the way Harrison uses the illustrations to make the point - to the point that I still think about some of the images. However the girl is not a victim in this book, the story is about how she takes steps to make space for herself and I have to say that I also found this very moving.
All in all I thought it was just an exquisite story that’s beautifully executed and it’s really stayed with me since reading it.
The Verdict:
Vashti Harrison’s self-illustrated picture book is a beautifully executed look at fat bias and its impact on young children. The text is sparse with the focus on the images of the nameless little girl as she endures the taunts and well-meaning but still hurtful comments from adults. It’s wonderfully done and very moving such that I am still thinking about it. I’d definitely read more of Harrison’s work on the strength of this.
BIG was released in the United Kingdom on 11th May 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
