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Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582120 | 3-6 years Buy
Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582137 | 3-6 years Buy
Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582144 | 3-6 years Buy
Jun 15, 2021 | 7 Minutes | 3-6 years Buy
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Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582120 | 3-6 years
Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582137 | 3-6 years
Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780525582144 | 3-6 years
Jun 15, 2021 | ISBN 9780593399859 | 3-6 years
7 Minutes
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.
Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter who studied fashion illustration at FIT and children’s book illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is the author and illustrator of Grandma’s Purse, Just Like… More about Vanessa Brantley-Newton
“This classic school story offers a full range of emotions and situates this life-loving Black child in affirming family and school settings. A welcome addition to every shelf.”–Kirkus“Bright, childlike mixed-media illustrations with a variety of patterns will appeal to youngsters, and the idea of a name having a meaning will be new to many children.”–Booklist“A hopeful celebration of individualism and an ode to recognizing one’s inner specialness.”–Publishers Weekly
Kansas National Education Association Reading Circle Catalog SELECTION 2022
Indie Next RECOMMENDED 2021
Becoming Vanessa – Read Aloud With Author Vanessa Brantley-Newton | Brightly Storytime
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