Get ready to go back to school with this inclusive, empathetic story that will help kids new to the classroom transform from timid caterpillars into beautiful butterflies who love exactly who they are!
On Vanessa's first day of school, her parents tell her it will be easy to make friends. Vanessa isn't so sure. She wears her fanciest outfit so her new classmates will notice her right away. They notice, but the attention isn't what she'd hoped for. As the day goes on, she feels more self-conscious. Her clothes are too bright, her feather boa has way too many feathers, and even her name is too hard to write.
The next day, she picks out a plain outfit, and tells her mom that her name is too long. She just wants to blend in, with a simple name like the other girls--why couldn't her parents have named her Megan or Bella? But when her mother tells her the meaning behind her name, it gives her the confidence she needs to introduce her classmates to the real Vanessa. Perfect for readers of Alma and How She Got Her Name and The King of Kindergarten.---from the publisher
40 pages 978-0525582120 Ages 4-7
Keywords: first day of school, belonging, identity, being yourself, self acceptance, accepting others, understanding yourself, dealing with feelings, social skills, social situations, African American and Black stories, Black Girl books, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, Social Emotional Learning SEL
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First day of school and Vanessa is nervous- "What if the other kids don't like me?" she asks her dad. Vanessa decides to wear a very special outfit to school so the other kids will notice her - feather boa and all. But at school the other kids don't get it. Even her name is different...so much longer than everyone else's.... It was awful. Vanessa didn't feel special at all.
Vanessa went home - not feeling special. Not until her mom asked her, "Do you know why I named you Vanessa?" Hmmm..... wonder what the answer was to that amazing question.
A book with its arms around all of us... for every child... who has ever felt that he/she/they did not belong...that there must be something missing in us.... this book offers a whole new wondrous perspective and possibility....
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
