![]() ![]() ![]() Harrison uses powerful visuals to explore the effect of others’ opinions on the girl. When the girl is unable to get out of a swing, her classmates rain down taunts and an adult scolds, “Don’t you think you’re too big for that? You’re in big trouble!” ![]() But the word soon takes on hurtful dimensions that culminate in a playground scene inspired by Harrison’s own childhood. ![]() At first, when she’s very young, the girl receives praise from adults who call her “a big girl,” and the word rewards her growth and accomplishments. As the baby becomes a toddler and then a girl, Harrison considers the shifting connotations of the word big in her life. “Once there was a girl / with a big laugh and a big heart / and very big dreams,” reads the spare text on the opposite page. The book opens as an adorable baby reaches up to touch a mobile of multicolored stars that hangs over her crib. Harrison marshals her considerable talents for a story that celebrates a young Black girl’s aspirations and highlights how words have the ability to empower or to cause suffering. Vashti Harrison, creator of Little Leaders, the bestselling illustrated nonfiction series, makes her fiction debut with Big, a simple yet immensely significant picture book. ![]()
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