Your Body is Amazing

By Jess Sanders

Illustrated by Christine Cuddihy

Reviewed by Claire Monsour

Dear Reader, there is no such thing as a perfect body. Every body is different and every body has its own strengths. What makes your body amazing is not what it looks like, but what it allows you to do. It is my hope that you and your body get to experience all the wonderful things this world has to offer. Your friend, Jess. 

Your Body is Amazing begins with the author’s quintessential message of hope and intention to the reader. The guide for parents and educators in ‘Your body is Amazing: a little one’s guide to appreciating their body’ sets up this book as a tool to support conversations about body image and body esteem with young children.

Jess Sanders is a social worker specializing in supporting young people, with a passion for creating resources that nurture positive mental health. In this latest book in her new series ‘Life Lessons for Little Ones’*, Jess has created a series of books that can be used as tools for parents and children to explore and understand challenging topics on body image, body autonomy, and self-esteem.

The book speaks directly to the reader, with clear language that explains body differences and promotes focusing on what your body can do, not what it looks like. The story describes different body functions, and moments when you might compare your body to others or feel uncomfortable about your body. These clear and practical examples are a great starting point for parents to guide young children in navigating body esteem and acceptance, and present opportunity to add their own experiences to the discussion.

Christine Cuddihy has provided engaging and functional illustrations that really support the message of the book. Cuddihy characters are simple and attractive to children, but her clever use subtle details – freckles, nose shapes, body curves – truly support the message in the book about differences in body types. A range of body types, racial and cultural backgrounds, and (dis)abilities, are represented in the illustrations.

Sander’s has clearly set out with the intention to write a positive and uplifting message to children about how wonderful all bodies are. She carefully choses language to focus on neutralizing physical aspects and enhancing abilities and strengths. The target audience of this book appears to be children who are struggling with “classic” body image issues (height, weight, sporting ability). But when feelings of frustration and self-awareness (or even self-shame?) are suggested, the book only offers the phrase “it’s normal to feel this way”; this leaves the majority of the discussion about difficult feelings and how to deal with them to the adult reading the story. There are some suggestions of things to do to remind yourself how amazing your body is: self-care, movement, rest, words of affirmation, and talking with a trusted grown-up. However, I was left wondering if a child who was struggling with more serious body-esteem issues, or struggling due to illness, disability, or a medical condition, may not find these suggestions as helpful.

Didactic children’s books are certainly prolific, with many picture books using instructional literature to appeal to overwhelmed parents, busy teachers, and young children faced with a confusing and changing world culture. It’s common now to see the book shelves of popular stores filled with traditional picture book stories and an almost equal number of books designed as teaching tools for how to love yourself, embrace the differences between us, and shape a generation of tolerance and acceptance.

While there is of course a place for this type of literature, it is worth keeping in mind that they serve a different purpose than more traditional children’s stories with a moral embedded within a tale. In a more traditional children’s book, the reader is driven through an emotional journey and is guided to understand a lesson from the experience and relation to their own principles. The language requirements are more complex (requiring relating, inference, and comprehension of other’s point of view), but the stories are enjoyed over multiple readings and can reveal alternate experiences at different ages. A more didactic text explores a topic in more simplistic and direct terms, with the purpose to inform and teach. They can be entertaining and enjoyable, but don’t always lend themselves to multiple readings.

The ‘Life Lessons for Little Ones’ series is proving both popular and functional, with author Jess Sanders drawing on her professional knowledge and personal expertise relating to young children. In the current sea of didactic picture books, Your Body is Amazing is a text that will serve educators and parents as a great starting point to support young children to appreciate their bodies.

Recommended for ages 3 – 7

*Other previous titles in this series include You Are Enough (2022), You’ve Got This! (2023), Your Softness is Your Strength (2023), You Can Do Hard Things (2024), and You Know Yourself Best (2024).

Affirm Kids 2025

Jess  Sanders

Christiine Cuddihy