You Are Uniquely You: Affirmations for Little Boys of Afro Heritage

In Charlene Tolentino’s You Are Uniquely You: Affirmations for Little Boys of Afro Heritage, we have a booming celebration of all things that make you, you. Illustrator Just Joonie has worked with Tolentino to create a small colorful volume, full of realistic and glistening water colors, that celebrates the worth of one little boy. This book declares itself a book of affirmations, and it is just that. There is no narrative here per se, but a list of pleasures that one little boy brings to his family as he is celebrated verbally.

Certainly, the book is a well-timed celebration for all little boys of African ancestry who have too long been ignored in children’s literature. What remains unclear in the work is why separate books were needed for boys and girls (see review of You Are Uniquely You: Affirmations for Little Girls of Afro Heritage). While the overall celebratory arc is the same in each work, the language employed by Tolentino to uplift little boys does somewhat employ stereotypical imagery. I don’t find the metaphor about being a “[…] very loud, booming rocket” particularly poignant, and paired with the notion that this is a boy’s affirmation, I find it a bit irksome. If this is envisioned as a response to what little boys of colour traditionally hear about themselves, then it would do well to consider the richest language available.

Regardless of my misgivings, I do feel that celebrating the uniqueness of children of African ancestry is worthwhile. The illustrations feel soft and luminous, befitting the party that the book invokes. You Are Uniquely You: Affirmations for Little Boys of Afro Heritage would be a lovely book to tuck into a young child’s birthday present.