Who do I See in the Mirror (Philly and Friends) by Vese Aghoghovbia Aladewolu – Children’s book review

Notes from the Author

“There is only one me!”

As Philly looks at her reflection in the mirror, she realises that from her curly hair to her legs that love to dance, she is unique. But what makes her truly special is her good heart and curious mind. The important message conveyed is for children to love the skin they are in. It’s what you are on the inside that matters most.

The book was inspired by my 17 month old daughter, I wanted to create a diverse children’s character she and kids everywhere can love and identify with. One who is strong, confident and happy,  goes on adventures, as curious as George, laughs from within and loves wholeheartedly with tight hugs and lots of kisses. You can see more on our website www.phillyandfriends.com and instagram page https://instagram.com/phillynfriends

Philly & Friends is a brand with purpose, and every book sold ships a book into the hands of an underprivileged child.

My Thoughts

What a wonderful book!

The illustrations are bright, colourful and eye-catching but simple and elegant, providing just enough for younger children.  They really bring Philly and her world to life.  It’s also great seeing more diverse and identifiable characters in books for small children.

One the surface, this book tells a delightful story of a little girl who is discovering all the different parts of herself that make her whole.  However, dig a little deeper and there’s a beautiful and much deeper element to this story.  It really promotes the uniqueness of each individual and the wonder that is us.  Then story can help develop a positive feeling towards body image just by asking the child to join in and say what they like about their different parts.  It encourages the child to look at each part and develop an understanding that together to make us and nobody else is truly like us.  If that doesn’t make us special then I’m not sure what will.

As a teacher in school I would use this book with the younger children as part of our unit about same and different.  It’s where we teach children that everyone is unique in their own way but we all share similarities too.  It’s a great way of looking into diversity and this book would provide so much discussion.

And if all of that isn’t enough, each book sold will put a copy into the hands of  a disadvantaged child so not only are you getting a beautiful book for yourself, you are buying one for another child too.