Customer Reviews

Just Because I Am: A Child's Book of Affirmation

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I inherited my now nine year old daughter after her mother died, this is a book I wish we had found right away. Before we finished the first page, Kim started saying things like, "This is excellent," and "This is my favorite book ever." All of the concerns of this young lady were addressed and affirmed: appearance, feelings, privacy, changes and more. Just Because I Am truly helped her understand that even with her experiences, she really is a worthwhile person. Hearing it from the perspective of a stranger (the author)and accompanied by the brightly colored illustrations of just the right complexity gave this much more weight than all the times I have expressed similar concepts in less lovely prose.

This is an excellent book, it's not hokey and fake like many "self-esteem" books. The content is right on target, speaking exactly to kids' interests and parents' concerns. My first grader took it to school to read, the teacher loved it--wanted to know where I got it.

I saw this book and didn't think anything of it, then I checked it out at the library and discovered that my daughter loved it (4 years old) and it brought up many discussions about herself and others. We love reading it together! I had to buy it because she kept wanting to check it out again, and again.

I'm glad I found this book. I haven't read it to my kids yet, but I will tomorrow, and let you know if anything significant comes up. This would have been an easy book to have done poorly, but Payne, a psychotherapist with a Master's in social work, knows what she is doing, and the artwork is really neat. There isn't really a story, so the illustrations are not crucial to the text. It would have been tempting to just draw some pictures of random kids doing stuff, but the illustrator, Claudia Rohling, has added borders, backgrounds, patterns and geometric designs. It might not sound like much, but the effect really works. It really approaches a modern illuminated manuscript, like a kid-themed Book of Hours. Great stuff.

The affirmations aren't really surprising: I'm special; I listen to my body; I take care of myself; it's alright to make mistakes, and so on. There is a brief mention of stranger danger and OK touching vs. bad touching--a useful reminder or a prompt for a conversation without spending a whole book on it.

What I like about the affirmations is that they don't get gushy. Unlike some other books, which drag on about how perfect the particular child's toes are, or how the child makes the moon and the stars happy, Payne write verses like "I have needs. It's important to let people know what I need. I can ask for help when I need it. I can ask someone who cares about me to help, and then I know I'm not alone."

Did I mention I liked the artwork?

This is the most disgusting, despicable excuse for a book that I have ever read. It encourages adults to discount the feelings of children. "When a child says 'I am good at something' you say 'you like that something.'" No where in this book does it say anything about being curious or wanting to know more about anything else. It is a self-congrat-
ulatory book; encourages self-applause instead of earning applause. I threw it away after the first time I read it. It was the single worst waste of money that I have ever committed. I am truly sorry that I bought this book.