“Fantastic You” written by Danielle Dufayet and
illustrated by Jennifer Zivion immediately caught my attention with its bright,
metallic cover and smiling children jumping together, but the book is not about making friends to explore with. In a culture insisting on
the importance of social engagement and social interaction, “Fantastic You”
emphasizes the need for children to learn about solidarity and self-reflection.
Although the cover of four playing children seems to
portray a book focusing on encouraging children to interact with their peers,
Dufayet’s book reminds children, or perhaps teaches them for the first time, the
need for a child to spend time with and get to know oneself.
Like many children, I loved play dates and new friends,
but friends weren’t always around, so I learned to be by myself. I learned I
could spend hours reading, playing in my room, or creating art all by myself. This wasn’t just a ploy by my parents to get me out of their
hair; they were teaching me something far more important: being content
with myself.
One of my main interactions with kids is with my
three-year-old niece, Olivia. O can be found laughing with her family, but she also can be found sitting by
herself in her room, playing with her dolls. I love watching her make her own
voices for her toys and develop stories that only she would understand. Not
only is she having fun playing by herself, she is learning about herself and
even the world around her by contemplating situations by herself. Social as she
is, she gets a bit cranky without some alone time, and maybe we can all learn
from Olivia.
Although this exact situation doesn’t happen in the book, this highlights how children can truly enjoy time on their own. Like in “Fantastic
You”, O knows the way to love hanging out with herself. She’s not taking a bath
or building a fort like in “Fantastic You”, but she’s learning about
the joys of just being alone, almost as a reset from the chaotic world. She is
reflecting on anything going on, and simply being content with herself and her
imagination.
Not only does “Fantastic You” teach about solitude,
but also the importance of self-care:
“And when I’m sick or just having a bad day, it’s
especially important to give myself extra love.
I can snuggle with my softest blanket,
Cuddle with my favorite lovey,
Or take an extra long, extra bubbly bath.” (Dufayet,
n.p.)
Self-care tends to invoke vacation trips or an
expensive day at the spa, but self-care is shown as accessible to anyone at any
age or any time, as shown in Zivion’s illustration above of a little girl at the bath in a big,
fluffy robe. Self-care can be a time for
self-reflection, or a distraction from anything overwhelming in life. Self-care
is a great way to check up on mental or physical states: What do I need right
now? Is there something bothering me? How can I fix that?
On the next page, the bathtub overflows, but Dufayet
uses this to make another important point:
“If I mess up, I say sorry. I do what I can to help
make things right, even if it’s an accident. This I remember to forgive myself.
Instead of feeling bad about what I did, I remind
myself:
Everyone makes mistakes. I’ll do better next time.”
(Dufayet, n.p.)
We all need to take a page from Dufayet’s book: We can all forgive ourselves, and that’s a pretty
important part of self-love.
Dufayet’s book is a great reminder to adults and
children alike that anyone can love themselves without
the help of anyone else.
Thanks to Magination Press for sending this book our
way.
-SS
Citation:
Citation:
Dufayet, Danielle. Fantastic You. Magination Press, 2019.
