Ladybug Nominee

Big by Vashti Harrison (Little Brown and Company, 2023)

This deeply moving story shares valuable lessons about fitting in, standing out, and the beauty of joyful acceptance. It traces a child’s journey to self-love and shows the power of words to both hurt and heal. With spare text and exquisite illustrations, this emotional exploration of being big in a world that prizes small is a tender portrayal of how you can stand out and feel invisible at the same time.

About Vashti Harrison

Vashti Harrison is originally from Onley, Virginia and now lives in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to writing and illustrating books she is an experimental filmmaker. Her films and videos focus on her Caribbean Heritage and folklore and have shown around the world at film festivals and venues including the New York Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival. Her website is at https://www.vashtiharrison.com/

Activities & Links

•  Check out this read along at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrFEtYcQE-w
• There is a pdf storytime kit for this book at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ox9iqhxukn8qktwfji5t5/Big_StorytimeKit_Color.pdf?rlkey=x5zkyck2bndueqvirpywobdee&e=1&dl=0
• Watch a video about the author's creative process and research that led to this book at https://vimeo.com/857330066
• Check out a guest-post on the ALSC blog about reading this book in an elementary school at https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2024/05/the-magic-of-big-a-month-of-read-alouds-and-great-conversations/
• An episode of The Calm and Collected podcast explains a visual activity, based on Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, which shows kids the power of their words at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkAfgog9USU.
  

Suggestions for Further Reading

• If you want more books illustrated by Vashti Harrison check out Sulwe by Lupita Nyong'o or Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry. 
• Want to meet more girls who don't let other people define them? Consider Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood and Meg Hunt; or Pocket Full of Colors by Amy Guglielmo and Brigette Barrager.
• If you like reading books by Vashti Harrison about amazing women don't miss Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, and Little Dreamers: Visionary Women Around the World.
  

 

This is one of nine titles nominated for the 2024 Ladybug Picture Book Award.

We will be posting information about a different nominee each Friday throughout the summer and will issue a pdf voters guide featuring all the titles at Labor Day.