Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Opening lines establish Armstrong's direct tone in this affirming autobiographical debut: "I have Down syndrome, and I like myself exactly as I am. I just want people to be nice to me and to like me for who I am, too." Noting that "sometimes people forget their manners," the speaker details a challenging episode at a shoe store, where "grown-ups act like I'm invisible." At school, the protagonist and classmates, depicted with varying abilities and skin tones, draw self-portraits. When Mia's, a portrait of "how I feel, not how I look" as well as "how I see the world," proves different from the others, she proudly asserts, "I think that makes it the best of all," modeling a confidence later supported by her family's praise. Appearing frequently as multiple vignettes on a page, Thompson's delicate pencil and gouache renderings amplify the emotion that infuses the text's vision of external patience and self-love. An author's note opens, and a q&a about Down syndrome concludes. Ages 4--8. (Jan.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 4--Tween actor and activist Armstrong makes an impressive authorial and narrating debut, proving she's her best advocate: "Don't whisper. Don't look away. Do say hello." She uses humor and kindness to diffuse hurtful situations--particularly with rude and unthinking adults. When her class is tasked with drawing self-portraits, Armstrong's is "something special, something to show how happy I feel being me." Her classmates don't initially understand, until she explains, "It's how I feel, not how I look." Armstrong--who patiently explains why she's "hard to understand sometimes"--is an infectiously effusive reader. She also gets a little help from her friends--Aubrielle Bazerkanian, James O'Neal III, and BFF Monroe Rebecca-Blu Cleary--to role-play her ending FAQs. VERDICT To choose only audio would be to miss Armstrong's "best" self-portrait--and the rest of Alexandra Thompson's whimsical, inclusive art. Libraries should consider enabling read-alongs by providing all formats.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Child actor and activist Armstrong, who has Down syndrome, embraces her uniqueness. Mia likes herself just fine, but sometimes people "forget their manners" or act like she's invisible--a shoe store clerk, for instance, addresses Mom instead of Mia until the child politely asserts herself. At school, though, everybody knows her. As her class draws self-portraits for Back-to-School Night, Mia knows exactly how to express "how happy I feel being me." But her classmates criticize her work, and Mia feels invisible again. Then, remembering Mom's reminders to be patient, Mia explains it's a "double self-portrait," a work that illustrates both how she feels and how she sees the world. Fortunately, "kids are faster than grown-ups at these kinds of things," and her classmates understand. With candor and wry humor, Mia reminds kids and adults alike not to patronize people with Down syndrome. In a gently pointed scene, she wonders if others would be equally rude to very old, tall, or scaly people, and she imagines droll comebacks to nosy questions and blunt remarks. Asked if they're "some kind of alien," a reptilian, green-skinned plane passenger deadpans, "Is that a problem?" Mia's enthusiasm and self-confidence radiate from Thompson's energetic cartoon illustrations. The backmatter includes cartoon-style panels of Mia fielding frequently asked questions about Down syndrome. Mia and her family present white; background characters are diverse. A celebration of self-advocacy, self-expression, and self-acceptance. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
