My Body Is My Home

A joyful celebration of bodies of all shapes and kinds, with a gently inclusive message about being at home in your own skin.

This is my body. It's my home. I will live here my whole life long. Every part of me belongs.

This heartwarming picture book is an empowering exploration of the ways we belong in our bodies. With vibrant illustrations and rhythmic language, My Body is My Home fosters confidence and self-love for young readers.

This book is perfect for: - Reading aloud to toddlers and preschoolers - Promoting healthy body image - Introducing concepts of body neutrality, consent and bodily autonomy---from the publisher

32 pages                               978-1761181672                       Ages 3-6

Keywords: human body, self acceptance, self image, consent, self love, self confidence, being yourself, inclusivity, self respect, 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old

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This is my body. It’s my home. I will live here my whole life long. Every part of me belongs.

Promoted by the publisher as, “A joyful celebration of bodies of all shapes and kinds, with a gently inclusive message about being at home in your own skin” and others as  “an endearing and inclusive exploration of all the ways bodies can be and all the incredible things they can do!”,  this book illustrates not just the similarities of the human body such as lungs, heart, and the way it grows over time,  but also how it changes as we learn and do new things, the feelings we experience and people who come and go throughout our lifetime,.  And the repeated refrain of, “My body is my home” reinforces that message that each of us is unique and the body we have is the only one we get so we need to accept it and nurture it in all the ways we can.

However, when you read the story behind the story, you see the powerful message that really stands behind it, one that could well give pause for thought, particularly in our role as educators and/or parents.   As a young child, the author learned that “my presence seemed to offend other people” and because “Children learn hierarchy from adults and then their peers. Who belongs, who doesn’t and why. My classmates learned from adults to see me as something to mock and despise.”  But while he had the wherewithal to lean into his brainy side and make others laugh to “compensate for the space I took up”, many of our students who, to this day, are still judged by their appearance, do not – and neither should they have to.

Therefore, in this picture book, Peach celebrates body neutrality – a concept that he describes as “being similar to being cold and getting a jumper: you’d neither celebrate nor criticise someone for feeling cold, or for wanting to be warm. My body isn’t wrong because it’s cold. It isn’t wrong because it’s fat. I’m not an amazing person just because I’d be more comfortable if I was warm, or because I choose to eat an apple or hot chips.” It’s a lesson he wished he had learned as a child when he was so focused on what everyone else thought about him, as so many of us are even as adults. Instead, he wished he knew that genetics, environment and economics are all part of the pictures and that,  “Size is not solely determined by self-control… being weak-willed or broken.”

While the bold illustrations are going to catch the eye of young readers, IMO, this is a book for all ages for there is something for all of us to learn from it, including us as adults as we challenge ourselves to consider what messages we are passing on to children whether we realise it or not.  If we are fixated on diet, exercise, fashion, makeup and physical appearance under the guise of “being healthy” , what are we saying to those who see us as role models, even subliminally?  And what impact is that having on their mental and emotional well-being?  Are they, like Jasper, beginning to believe that their not-so-perfect presence is offensive?

So much food for thought and one that should be brought to the attention of our peers.  And let’s raise a glass to all those of us who will never be Charles Atlas, Twiggy, a Kardashian or whoever the current idol is, and be grateful that they are in our lives anyway,

PS

I wrote the review to My Body is My Home a couple of weeks ago, in the days before I knew about a phenomenon  that is apparently gathering momentum among young boys, particularly those in their teens, called looksmaxxing in which, driven by some predetermined “perfect” body image promoted by social media “influencers”, they take extreme measure like hitting their face with a hammer and taking steroids and peptides to achieve this stereotype which they believe is the only way they can move forward, have friends, get a job, get a girlfriend and so on. 

I just watched an interview with Dr Nick Coatsworth and another professional (perhaps a psychologist) on the Today Show about the dangers of this practice, and it made me realise just how important the message in what is seemingly a book for young readers is.  I focused on it in the review, unaware of this new wave and so I am just trying to draw your attention to it so we as parents and educators are aware of it. The message from the interview is to seek information about the process, and those who are pushing it and putting our kids in grave, unseen dangers, and my searches discovered a 60 Minutes segment   as well as a number of other reports that are worth exploring and names worth knowing if you hear someone quoting them.  And as one who is married to one who relaxes with “Home and Away”, it may be becoming the new storyline featuring Sunny (?).

Therefore, even if you deem today’s book to be too young for your clientele, at least read the review and perhaps the full story behind the story so your awareness is raised. And, by extension, the power of social influencers and their motivation and how it all feeds into the natural anxiety of teens who are just finding their place in the wider world. 

Whatever happened to just teaching  reading, writing and ‘rithmetic?  LOL.