Reviews for I Like Myself!

The average rating for I Like Myself! based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-01-21 00:00:00 Ioannis Nikoloudakis I could tell right away that this book's illustrator was white, because of his unfortunate portrayal of a Black child. The part that stands out to me as particularly hard to read is the spread that begins, "Even when I look a mess..." and depicts the young girl in bed with her hair caricatured into what looks like an afro (the hairstyle shown in this illustration is a marked difference from the dreadlocks that the main character was wearing before). The implication that Black girls' natural hair is inherently "a mess" is racist and deeply damaging; it regurgitates dominant cultural norms that devalues Black people's bodies and pressures them to conform to white standards of beauty. As a non-Black person of color, I wanted to be sure that my dismay wasn't misguided -- but found that another reviewer also found this book offensive: Here's a great example of why #ownvoices stories are so crucial. Sometimes, white children's book authors portray Black children with respect and celebration (such as Ezra Jack Keats, in my opinion). But too often, biases show up on the page and do no justice to Black children's brilliance and lives.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-24 00:00:00 Jenny Lilley 4..Well deserved stars... A fun and empowering read!! I Like Myself will definitely keep any reader, young or old, entertained and excited about who he or she is. The rhymes are abundant. The illustrations are fun and whimsical. Yet, the message is very clear. BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE!! EMBRACE YOUR UNIQUENESS!!