I Am! Affirmations for Resilience

Printed with woodblocks and composed digitally, Rodriguez’s geometric illustrations, done in a cheerful 1970s-style color palette, use bold, hand-lettered typography to distinguish this guide that imparts verbal affirmations to youngest readers. Barbosa pairs 10 common negative emotions that children experience, including jealousy, anger, and loneliness, with calming actions and opposing declarations meant to re-center children in positivity: “When you are feeling/ jealous or left out,/ put your hands on/ your heart and say:/ I AM LOVED!” Though the concise narrative may oversimplify the ease of processing emotions (“When you are ready/ to move on, you can make/ yourself feel better!”), children will benefit from learning to identify and address how they feel early on, and may find comfort in the book’s assurance that feelings are temporary. Back cover includes an author’s note addressing young readers’ adult caretakers. Ages 2–4. [em](Oct.) [/em]