Today I'm Strong

April 15, 2022
A child facing a bully draws confidence from an imaginary tiger. The protagonist, who has brown skin and glasses, tells the tiger what they love most about school--being greeted by the teacher, spending time with friends, climbing the jungle gym, and talking about the tiger. But the refrain "I love to go to school" changes when the child encounters a mean classmate. School becomes a sad place, and the narrator feels voiceless. Remembering that the tiger is there, even on sad days, the child knows that they are not alone and stands up for themselves, establishing boundaries, making clear what is unacceptable behavior, and finding resolve from the tiger within. British cooking personality Hussain continues to explore themes of social-emotional intelligence and self-awareness in this picture book that follows My Monster and Me (2019). Bailey's illustrations are charmingly comforting, rounded, and soft. But in comparison to the book's predecessor, the manifestation of the tiger as both inner strength and imaginary friend feels more forced, and the story is less exploratory, with an abrupt ending. Still, children confronting similar issues may find it reassuring, especially if sharing the story with a trusted adult. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A soothing, though unrealistically rosy, depiction of overcoming bullying. (Picture book. 3-7)

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August 5, 2022

PreS-Gr 2-Intending to empower children to defend themselves by raising their voices and pushing through in the face of adversity, this book inadvertently racializes power dynamics. The protagonist, with red round spectacles vivid against her brown skin and black hair, loves school, except on the days when Molly bullies her. On those days, the protagonist loses her voice and wants to hide, until she summons her inner strength, symbolized as a tiger, and stands up to Molly. Illustrating the protagonist's inner strength as a tiger companion makes this an effective picture book. On nearly every page, readers can search for the tiger and make sense of its consistent presence representing that strength is inside, waiting to be needed. While this is a valuable message, the racialized dynamic of bullying undermines the takeaway. Despite the protagonist's class being illustrated as diverse, Molly, a blond child, is singled out as a bully when most characters do not have names. Readers will not understand why she has the power, and why the heroine is nameless. While the message is to show all children that they can stand up to a bully like Molly, it may also show children of color specifically that they're the ones who always have to rise above. VERDICT Instead of a story with characters readers can cheer for and believe in, this book relies on simplistic tropes and stereotypes.-Paige Pagan

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