I can be . . . me!

"I can be everything I want to be./ I can be all of magnificent me!" Leading on from the titular phrase, chipper couplets promote empowerment through dress-up and play in this inclusive excursion. Newman's energetic first-person verse emphasizes self-acceptance as the speaker describes embracing a wide range of activities (basketball and ballet), fashions (blue jeans and nail polish), and feelings (anger and sadness). Employing clean lines and rainbow colors, Gonzalez's naïf-style colored pencil, pencil, and watercolor art portrays kids in suits and ruffles and rainbow hues. A spread of children decked out as royalty ("I can dress like a prince/ with a crown on my head// or wear a long gown/ like a princess instead") portrays the group with varying skin tones and hairstyles, and pinks and purples abound during an ice-skating excursion. The cumulative cheerleading effect is a powerful affirmation of self. Ages 4--7. (Mar.)

An exuberant invitation for children to express themselves, however they choose. Kids of different skin tones, hair textures, and outfits frolic through a candy-colored world as rhyming couplets extol self-determination: "I can be everything I want to be. / I can be all of magnificent me!" Though gender isn't explicitly mentioned, many affirmations challenge dominant cultural gender norms around activities and feelings. In one scene, all the children wear pink tutus. In another, the narrator states that they can "ask for a hug / when I'm trembling with fright." An illustrator's note at the beginning of the book asks readers not to make "assumptions about who any of these kids are. They are who they are, and they are everything they want to be." The characters play with race cars, sing lullabies to dolls, and pummel pillows to vent frustration. With no characters gendered in the text, the conversation about "who any of these kids are" is left as a more open-ended question. In the end, the kids conclude, "I am splendiferous… / and so are YOU!" The simplicity of the book's upbeat couplets, paired with illustrator Gonzalez's whimsical art, will appeal to some. However, the characters' doll-like faces vary little in their countenance, dampening the message around fully experiencing emotions and the overall atmosphere of the story. In a growing field of picture books about self-expression, this one doesn't stand out. (This book was reviewed digitally.) "Splendiferous" may be an overstatement, but this book on being yourself is suitable for youngsters. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.