  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 09/15/2017 A mother-daughter team offers a love letter encouraging girls to accept and love themselves. They advise girls to be confident, to speak up, and to be curious and adaptable to anything. An eclectic double-page spread recommends making your room you, with the humorous reminder: “And while you’re at it, make your bed!” Other messages: never lose your sense of wonder, seek out others like you and those unlike you, create traditions, color outside the lines, be brave, try new things. And in a delightful paean to joy: “Sometimes you’ve just gotta stop . . . AND DANCE!” The last page celebrates a mother’s feelings for her daughter, reminding her that she is loved—a section made especially touching by the fact that, for Amy Krouse Rosenthal, this is a posthumous publication. Artwork, in line drawings, photography, and texture, is joyful and whimsical, showing a personable little girl with shiny black hair pursuing her dreams with a wide range of expressive emotions. Sure to be a hit for mothers and daughters of all ages for its warm, supportive message.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Interest in Rosenthal, a superstar in life, has only increased since her heartbreaking death. - Copyright 2017 Booklist. School Library Journal - 11/01/2017 K-Gr 3—This title from Rosenthal and her daughter Paris contains a series of short letters of affirmation and encouragement. Each missive reminds readers to be herself, be smart, be adventurous, sometimes cry, and always listen to your instincts. The mother-daughter connection is always loving and personal. "Make your room awesome. Make your room you. And while you're at it, make your bed! Hatam's mixed-media illustrations perfectly balance and illustrate the text. Watercolor, crayon, and collage are just some of the elements she uses, and her application could easily inspire a project partnering English and Art classes, or a library literary club. While this book is formatted and applicable to young readers it might find its most important audience in elementary-age girls. The text is encouraging and important and, if shared by the right adult, could have a powerful, lasting impact. VERDICT This picture book should have a permanent place on every empowering book display your library puts up. A must purchase.—Shana Morales, Windsor Public Library, CT - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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