Review of 100% ME

[Dana Youngblood]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "100% ME" by Tonia Monroe.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The children’s book 100% Me by Tonia Monroe is a simple but empowering read for little ones. The illustrations in the book are of children of various races and are described by the wording on the accompanying page. The kids in the illustrations appear to be happy, with smiles across their faces. They are dressed in colorful clothes and are 100% themselves. The book tells the reader that no matter what their looks, language use, or differences are from those around them, they are enough. I read this book to my girls, ages five and seven, and they both liked it. The book gives the reader a chance to say what features they like about themselves.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 rating. There are no errors in the book. It is simple but can bring up a lot of feelings about a child’s self. I like the message of the book. My daughters also liked reading it. They liked the pictures, as did I, and we liked that the pictures went with the wording and descriptions. We all liked the message that you can be yourself and be 100% who you are. However, I felt that the book was lacking in attention-grabbing illustrations. Yes, I liked the images, but they were almost too simple. There was nothing in the background, just the children. The description of the book says that it is for mixed-race children; however, this does not show through in the illustrations. I think the descriptions are supposed to show this message more than the illustrations, but it is hard to say. I feel that any child of any race or background could read this book and still get the message. My daughters also did not know what "100% me" meant. I explained it to them, which helped them to grow a little bit in their knowledge, but it was not clear to them from the book what it meant.

I would recommend this book to all parents and children. This book is written by a person of mixed race and has images of children of mixed races. However, I feel that the message is important for each child to hear.

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100% ME
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