The UW Tacoma Library  has new Children’s books! You can find them on display in the Children’s section of the Tioga Library Building this summer. This growing collection of selected and curated titles funded by the Belinda Louie Endowment speak to the way we exist in bodies. These books build a foundation for understanding what it means to live in a body- particularly a body that exists outside the idealized “default body.” 

I learned of the term default body when doing work on my thesis about how fat women show up in contemporary romance novels. Introduced to me by fat activist and scholar Sonya Taylor Renee in her book The Body is Not an Apology: the Power of Radical Self-Love, the default body is the body that most people imagine when they are given no descriptors for a person in a story. In Western culture specifically, this default body typically translates to a thin, white, young, able-bodied person. For anyone that exists in a body, even if this is the image your mind immediately conjures, this is not the reality for anyone. Even someone that might look to exist in the “default body” at one moment in time will experience their body change as it grows older and accumulates signs of having lived.

Because we live in a world where it’s commonplace to comment on other people’s bodies, have other people comment on our own, and to navigate a capitalist landscape that profits on the understanding that our bodies can (and should) be better, it’s wildly important to create safe spaces and carve out time to grow a healthy relationship with our own bodies, and it can be so important to do so with the young people we share our world with. 

There are two prevailing schools of thought when it comes to wrestling with your self-image: body-positivity and body-neutrality. There are pros and cons to each movement, but they’re united in their belief that it is possible and beneficial to nurture a healthy relationship with the skin you live in. 

Body-positivity is the term you’ve probably heard before. The idea of curating body-positivity is to love your body unconditionally- no matter what it looks like in the moment you’re thinking about it and what it may look like tomorrow. And while this idea is beautiful, it often feels more like a utopian dream than a practical one. The critique for this term emerges from the unsustainable nature of loving yourself at every minute of every day. When you have a bad mental health day, or a day when you just aren’t feeling yourself, or you’re experiencing a slew of negative comments about your body externally… it feels like you’re failing. When you aren’t able to love every single aspect, you feel guilt instead of the love the body-positive movement believes you should be able to force.

Body-neutrality takes the view that your body exists outside of moral labels and your (and the world’s) assignation of them. A body (and all the myriad aspects of it) are neither good nor bad, they just are. This school of thought refocuses the emphasis on what your body does rather than what it doesn’t or relating its functions to how it looks.

The children’s books we’ve added to the collection were chosen with an eye towards body-neutrality but there are definitely elements of body-positivity that crop up. Because body-neutrality focuses on the existence of a body, it tends to be more descriptive in language and nature. Books that self-describe themselves as body-positive have a tendency to sneak in prescriptive language that veers into exclusionary territory. Even if it’s not the intention, there is a pattern of these types of books to resort to lists of things that are beautiful about a body without language that addresses all types of bodies and instead cater again to the imagined default body. 

Laxmi never paid much attention to the tiny hairs above her lip. But one day while playing farm animals at recess, her friends point out that her whiskers would make her the perfect cat. She starts to notice body hair all over–on her arms, legs, and even between her eyebrows.

With her parents’ help, Laxmi learns that hair isn’t just for heads, but that it grows everywhere, regardless of gender. Featuring affirming text by Shelly Anand and exuberant, endearing illustrations by Nabi H. Ali, Laxmi’s Mooch is a celebration of our bodies and our body hair, in whichever way they grow.

This book is darling! The way the parents address Laxmi’s insecurities about her body hair is both poignant and playful. I like the inclusion of regal historical figures, cultural icons, and family members to normalize the presence of body hair. While they don’t force Laxmi to see her hair as beautiful, they do point out that it is normal and there for practical reasons like keeping you warm and soft. I love that Laxmi then uses her big, beautiful imagination to turn it into something beautiful that other kids in her class could recognize and celebrate with her.

A child reminds everyone to embrace their own special something in this joyful expression of self-love. When a drawing of a little girl comes to life, she boldly declares that she doesn’t want to be erased, or put into a picture that doesn’t feel like her true self. Instead, she decides to speak up in a powerful way. And she has some words of advice: embrace what you have, love yourself, and “rock what ya got.

I love this book! There’s body diversity on the page, a body neutrality through line, and illustrations of self-acceptance and kind self-talk. If there was anything to be added, it would be a grappling with how you can work to become the person you want to be in the body you have, with the body you have- although the ending leaves room for the reader to imagine that aspect of the story.

What happened to you? Was it a shark? A burglar? A lion? Did it fall off? A boy named Joe is trying to play pirates at the playground, but he keeps being asked what happened to his leg. Bombarded with questions and silly suggestions, Joe becomes more and more fed up…until the kids finally understand they don’t need to know what happened. And that they’re wasting valuable playtime!

Based on the author’s real childhood experiences, this honest, funny, and authentic picture book is an empowering read for anyone with a disability, and for young readers learning how best to address differences.

This is a brilliant if frustrating book. The whole point is that you don’t have the right to know someone’s story- the frustration has an essential narrative role. It shows the reader that everyone has a right to be treated as a person with thought, and dreams, and imagination beyond what you assume from what someone looks like on the outside and without their having to explain themselves to you.

After a day of being taunted by classmates about her unruly hair, Mackenzie can’t take any more and she seeks guidance from her wise and comforting neighbor, Miss Tillie. Using the beautiful garden in the backyard as a metaphor, Miss Tillie shows Mackenzie that maintaining healthy hair is not a chore nor is it something to fear. Most importantly, Mackenzie learns that natural black hair is beautiful.

I loved this book! I loved the use of the garden as an example in patience, tender care, and determination. I also loved the idea of what we put into our bodies affects what our bodies are able to give back to us- including nutrients and self-talk. Finally, I loved the informational section at the end that talked readers through the foundations of Black hair care.

From the acclaimed creator of Dancing at the Pity Party and Roaring Softly, this picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. “My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!”

The illustrations are stunning. And exciting- even though I’ve met people with all these different bodies, I’ve rarely, if ever, seen them drawn like this. Living life, participating without the focus being on the limitations or consequences of having a body outside the cultural expectations of oppressive beauty standards. The words to this book were descriptive without being prescriptive. The refrain “bodies are cool” could be taken as body positivity rather than body neutrality but I think the visual inculsion is important for people of all ages to see. It’s a huge step in normalizing the varied body types that exist in the world.

A New York Times bestseller! A National Book Award finalist! This deeply moving story shares valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance, from a New York Times bestselling and award-winning creator.

The first picture book written and illustrated by award-winning 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.

I love this book. The illustrations are stunning and clever in the way they play with the space of the page to accentuate the emotions and struggles of the main character. The illustrations of the main girl as physically, impossibly larger then those around her was heartbreaking for a myriad of reasons- one, because she felt isolated and two, because it was so relatable. I appreciated the ending for its unrelenting insistence that the problem in this narrative was caused by the prevalent, oppressive nature of fatphobia and not with the main character’s body itself. To change her body would only be a bandaid solution to the deep wound of a fatphobic society. I love that she chooses her own defining words and holds them close.

The kids at school want to know why Becca is wearing glasses and a patch. Instead of telling them she has amblyopia, Becca leads her friends on imaginative adventures to explain her new fashion accessory. Mitch Vane’s illustrations capture the spunky exuberance of this resourceful heroine.

I loved this book! I do not have a background in disability studies so I would be curious to read reviews for this book from people that have experienced the same condition as Becca. But, from an outside perspective, I loved the way the narrative focused on how Becca incorporated her eye patch into the games, imaginings, and interactions rather than having it limit her ability to participate or connect with people. Becca was full of whimsy and playfulness. This book reminds me of The Arabic Quilt and What Happened to You?.

Our bodies! Our amazing, astounding, and all-around awesome bodies! Bodies come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and can do extraordinary things. Our bodies are uniquely our own yet they connect us to the world around us in so many ways. Through playful rhymes and colorful engaging artwork, all the things that make our bodies special–from the texture of our hair to the color of our eyes–are celebrated. This sweet and inclusive book encourages young readers to acknowledge and accept differences, and offers the perfect opportunity to open up conversations about body acceptance. Every body is different and all bodies are good. Back matter includes tips and conversation starters for parents and educators to use with children.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. I especially love the addition of guides in the back for parents navigating conversations with children about their own bodies and noticing differences in others bodies around them. Curiosity is a good thing. Encouraging conversation instead of shutting it down because of potential discomfort is paramount. Love love love. 

In this celebration of Japanese culture and family and naked bodies of all shapes and sizes, join a little girl–along with her aunties and grandmother–at a traditional bath house. Once there, the rituals leading up to the baths begin: hair washing, back scrubbing, and, finally, the wood barrel drumroll. Until, at last, it’s time, and they ease their bodies–their creased bodies, newly sprouting bodies, saggy, jiggly bodies–into the bath. Ahhhhhh!

With a lyrical text and gorgeous illustrations, this picture book is based on Kyo Maclear’s loving memories of childhood visits to Japan, and is an ode to the ties that bind generations of women together.

Not only was this book visually stunning but I loved that it introduces readers to a way of thinking about bodies (shape, age, appearance) that doesn’t assume you have to look a certain way to be a part of experiencing pleasure- in this case, the pleasure of the bath house and existing in your naked body in safety, comfort, and love.

Developed by experts in the fields of early childhood and activism against injustice, this topic-driven picture book offers clear, concrete language and beautiful imagery to introduce the concept of BODY LIBERATION. This book serves to celebrate the uniqueness of your body and all bodies, and addresses the unfair rules and ideas that currently exist about bodies. It ends with motivational action points for making the world more fair for all!

I appreciated the interactive nature of this book with the guided questions after introducing an aspect of body diversity. I also appreciated the definitions of terms provided. I had trouble with a few of the statements presented as facts when really they’re wishful thinking. For example, the first page starts with “my body is amazing”. While bodies are amazing, that might not always feel true, and if you don’t feel that way it can feel like you’re failing even when the statement didn’t mean to cause feelings of inadequacy.

Meet Zubi: a joyful Bangladeshi girl excited about her first day of school. But when Zubi sees her mother frowning in the mirror and talking about being “too big,” she starts to worry about her own body and how she looks. As her day goes on, she hears more and more people being critical of each other’s and their own bodies, until her outburst over dinner leads her family to see what they’ve been doing wrong—and to help Zubi see that we can all make the world a more beautiful place by being beautifully ourselves.

This book made me cry. I wish I had read this when I was growing up. It’s a stunning and poignant reminder of how being unkind to our own bodies affects those around us- and the power we each have to be kind to others and lead by example.

This sweet story teaches us to embrace our messy imperfections in this book perfect for fans of The Most Magnificent Thingand The Book of Mistakes. Mira wants to be perfect at everything she tries. Everyone around her is good at something, but Mira’s not sure if she’ll ever find a thing of her own. One day, Mira decides to try . . . and because of that one simple act, everything changes. With a stumble, a wobble, and a humongous flop or two, will Mira learn to find the beauty in her imperfections? Faith Pray’s inspiring words and whimsical illustrations will encourage all of us to never be afraid of the second, third, or fiftieth try.

I love this book as a way of approaching body neutrality because it’s not about Mira’s body at all. It’s about a growth mindset and finding humor in trying and not succeeding but finding delight in moving your body.

The things that you grow to love about your body will be specific to you. There is no one, no one book, that can prescribe love for your nose or your fingers or the things you can (and cannot) do with your body. These stories allow for children to decide for themselves what they love- and when- while still having a strong foundation of a healthy relationship of the different exciting ways you can exist in a body apart from tying value to only western beauty standards.

The hope is that this selection of books creates space to think about bodies separate from questions of morality or ability and provide resources for starting conversations about what it means to have a body. We hope these titles are starting points for our youngest Husky visitors, for Education students developing their classroom collections, and anyone else with an interest in thinking through these issues 

If you’re interested in learning more about body-positivity, body-neutrality, fat liberation movements, fat activists, disability studies, etc., check out this recommended reading list: