My Self, Your Self

My Self, Your Self is a warm fuzzy book perfect for sharing with someone small who needs a bit of affirmation. It is written as a series of questions and statements about the nature of one’s personhood, and about what makes each of us different.

What is a self?
Is it INSIDE of us?
Or OUTSIDE of us?
Is it the way we feel?
Or how we make each other feel?
Is it the things we do?
What we put on our toast?
The way we button our coats?

The text here is like a contented poem of self-realization: how you can almost always find something positive about life, about another person. And if there is a trait in another that is a little annoying, well, that’s individuality for you.

For this little self, days may pass in joyous activity with friends, from enjoying fresh-baked muffins to singing in the bath. However even when alone, it doesn’t fret about being lonely.

I am never truly alone because I always have

my self.

My self comes with me HERE…

it follows me THERE…

I bring my self everywhere.

My self is the only self I have.

Your self is the only self you have.

Your self is a lovely self, so take some time

to get to know yourself.

Shapiro, an American author and illustrator, has a number of picture book titles to her credit, including Carol and the Pickle Toad,
Yak and Dove and Ooko that received a Governor General’s Literary Award nomination. Her quirky black line drawings are tinted with a muted rose and shades of green. The narrator ‘self’ is a cheery round creature who looks a bit like a radish. Its companions resemble, among other creatures, a snail and a celery stalk. The landscapes in the background are full of intricate and, at times, fantastical flowery embellishments.

Choose My Self, Your Self for a cozy one-on-one reading session at home or in a kindergarten classroom.