PICTURE BOOK REVIEW: Big by Vashti Harrison (Available May 2, 2023)
REVIEW
A young black girl learns the power of words in this stunning picture book. When she's first born, the girl is encouraged to dream with words like caring, considerate, smart, creative, graceful, and nimble. As she gets older she starts to hear the word 'big' too often and not in a good way. A mishap at the playground leads to mean laughter and teasing; even the adults criticize her. And as one would expect it hurts, the words are hard to forget. The illustration showing the girl with the words showing on her skin as she looks in the mirror hit me hard. As the story continues, the words take their toll on the girl's confidence, especially the so-called 'helpful' advice she gets that breaks her heart. The middle pages of the book are fascinating and powerful in the imagery created. The girl runs away from her ballet class after the teacher tells her she can't be a flower because she's too big.
As she sits crying, the pictures of her get bigger until she fills one page, the page appears to 'contain' her until she pushes through to the other side and fills both pages, once again appearing to be contained by the words spoken to her. For a time she allows the pages and the words to fill her ears and heart, until she can't hold in the pain any more and tears flow. But with the tears come both the sweet words from her earlier years as well as the newer painful ones. She slowly learns to pick out the good words and push aside the rest. As she does she finds a way to push past the limits put on her including the pages of the book as she pushes out into fold out pages. I found myself cheering for her as she begins speaking up for herself and moving forward past the unkind words and misplaced offers to help her change. Finally she finds joy in being herself.
This book just about leaves me speechless with its powerful imagery and even more important message. As a reader and librarian, I've always believed in the power of words. As a former target of bullies, I've experienced how painful hurtful words can be. What Harrison does so well here is the way she's combined words and pictures into a beautiful, impactful statement about the words we hear and what we choose to believe about ourselves. The hurt the girl feels practically bleeds through the pages and had me in tears. When the girl pushes herself beyond the boundaries other people set for her, I grinned from ear to ear. This is a book that all children need to read as well as all adults who live with or work with children. It's vitally important to remember that words are powerful and how we use them can make a huge difference in the lives of children.
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