Picture Book Review: Penelope Embraces Her Uniqueness by Katrina Hunt

| Tibby

Penelope Embraces Her Uniqueness written by Katrina Hunt, illustrated by Adua Hernandez

A purple book cover features a little girl with two hair poofs. She has her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself. She is wearing a bright yellow, sleeveless dress. She is being encircled by glowing musical notes. In the background is a baby grand piano.
Image description: A purple book cover features a little girl with two hair poofs. She has her eyes closed and her arms wrapped around herself. She is wearing a bright yellow, sleeveless dress. She is being encircled by glowing musical notes. In the background is a baby grand piano.

From Goodreads: Read along as author, Katrina Hunt, tells the story of a young girl named Penelope who has some struggles embracing all of the things that make her special/unique. Penelope eventually realizes that life is so much more than how she looks, but it’s her wonderful gifts and talents that make her one of a kind, too. Penelope Embraces Her Uniqueness inspires and encourages children to embrace who they are, and let their uniqueness shine through.

Penelope is having a hard time feeling like she’s different from everyone around her. She’s focused on how she looks different- her feet aren’t dainty, her skin is darker than the other girls, her hair is poofy. But one night she visits a fair and starts dancing at the music tent. She’s invited up on stage and discovers she is good at something. All the body criticism falls away and she realizes that it’s okay to be different and that she has had this talent and inner strength all along.

I think these types of books are especially wonderful in school and classroom libraries where there are groups of children who may end up comparing themselves to each other. This is something Penelope struggles with in the story. Not to mention the trend of working with children on their social and emotional intelligences in those venues. Penelope encourages children to find their gifts and talents and the special things that make them them.

I also think that, while every child can benefit from the positive message here, Black children (and a lot of children of color more broadly) will especially benefit from seeing a little girl who looks like them on the page. Traditional publishing still overwhelmingly centers white characters and this is true for those books that show quirky kids being accepted as they are. Librarians who serve populations with kids of color and Black children should be sure to have this on their shelves, especially if they also have books like Madeline, Lady Bug Girl, and Pippi Longstocking.

Adua Hernandez is always a strong illustrator. Her people are adorable and so much of her art features bright, friendly colors and patterns. It’s part manga, part cartoon. Penelope is hard on herself for her looks, but in reality she’s a sweet little girl with her hair in poofs, big brown eyes, and a yellow dress that pops against her brown skin. She also looks a lot like the author’s daughter who can be seen on the dedication page. As always the colors are bright and inviting and draw the reader into the page.

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy by the publisher, Melanin Origins, in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase the book here (not affiliate links)

Final note: If you do purchase this book, please post a review of it on Amazon. This will help other folks find the book and know that it’s worth purchasing. If you use any other book services like GoodReads or your local library’s online catalog be sure to post a review there too! And if your local library doesn’t have a copy, request that they purchase one.