Help Me Be Me: A Children's Picture Book About Self-Love and Inclusion

Although the bright cover of this picture book is appealing at first glance, reading it left me with the sensation that Help Me Be Me is something you would pick up in the waiting room of a child psychologist or counsellor rather than at a library. The text seems to be aimed at adults in a laudable effort to have them encourage children to develop and thrive on their own terms rather than in ways designed to meet adult expectations. The book asks adults to let the “me” here make choices about their own dress and games, to be spoken to not at, even to spend their birthday money in the way that they choose.

Many lines in the book echo the self-help mantras of websites and the kinds of television reality shows where participants bare their feelings, like:

If I’m going to grow into the me that I am meant to be

I need to be…seen

I need to be heard… and I need to know that…I matter

And:

I need to feel my feelings

It’s okay to be loud when I am happy…

…or just feel like being loud.

The sentiments are often obvious, sometimes a bit shopworn, and definitely reflect more of a grownup sensibility than something childlike. The end of the book comes around again to this:

No matter how old I am I’ll always want to know…

That I am seen

I am heard and I do matter…to you

Luminous watercolour illustrations executed by a young Ontario artist fill each page with impressionistic images of a child’s life. Some are scenes of realism; some are more in the realm of imagination. In some cases, events are shown from the physical perspective of the child which reinforces the message. The hand-lettered text lends some immediacy although the continuous use of ellipses rather than standard punctuation becomes a distraction.

Author Reynolds is described as being “an actor and filmmaker” and a “certified Dr. Shefali Conscious Parenting coach”. There is a disclaimer attached to the publishing information at the back which states that “the information provided in this book is intended for general information purposes only. The content is not intended to be used to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any disorder or psychological condition…” The cover of the book is larded with awards stickers (Golden Wizard 2023; Firebird Book Award Winner; Readers’ Favorite Five Stars) which on investigation are not representative of familiar children’s literature awards. Rather, they are prizes that authors and publishers can apply for and can be awarded on such things as the number of nominations received for a given category of writing.

Help Me Be Me is bibliotherapy not literature, and it is not a book that will have much interest for the general reader.