Poetry Friday: Self-Esteem Week

This past week, I did a series of reviews called "Self-Esteem Week." This poem by Kipling is a classic "Believe In Yourself / Be Yourself" poem, and as I read it, it seemed that each of my posts this week fit with one of the stanzas. Pop over and check out the reviews, if you're so inclined, or just read the poem loud and proud as you sit up straight and tall and remind yourself to be 100% YOU! (...and I hope you don't mind the way I tweaked the ending of the poem...)

Jama has the roundup today at Jama's Alphabet Soup.

IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

(related self-esteem post here)

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

(related self-esteem post here)

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

(related self-esteem post here)

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---child, you'll be a great Human!

(Kipling's ending: "--you'll be a Man, my son!")
(related self-esteem post here)

Rudyard Kipling

Self-Esteem Week: Be Who You Must Be

Otter and Odder: A Love Story
by James Howe
illustrated by Chris Raschka
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

What happens when you fall in love with someone you're not supposed to fall in love with...say, your food source, for instance, if you're an otter and you fall in love with a fish? All the rest of the pond-dwellers will gossip about you, and your families will pressure you to make a more natural choice. But hopefully, there will be a wise beaver in your life, who suggests you try eating apples and bark, instead of fish. And suddenly, with that one shift in perspective, your true love is no longer your food source, and you can live happily ever after, and 100% true to yourself.

Big Mean Mike
by Michelle Knudsen
illustrated by Scott Magoon
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

What happens if you're the biggest, meanest dog on the block, and these cute fluffy bunnies start showing up, no matter what you do to discourage them? At some point, you need to admit to yourself that you love your fluffy bunnies and you need to stand up to any of the other dogs on the street who want to make fun of you because of your friends. Being true to yourself also means being true to your friends.

Zephyr Takes Flight
by Steve Light
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

What if your passion gets you in trouble when you fly it into the china cabinet, and you're sent to your room? Don't stop dreaming there, because your story might turn out to be a bit like Max's and you can go to place where pigs DO fly, and YOU fly, and your passion comes to life, and when you get back home, your dad is calling you to come eat your pancakes. Be true to your dreams for as long as it takes to make them come true.

Oliver
by Birgitta Sif
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

What if you feel a bit different from everyone else? What if you like to play alone, and create new worlds for you and your toy friends? If you are happy alone, be happy alone. But if, when you're playing tennis alone and your ball bounces to another person who is playing tennis alone, be open to a new beginning and a new friend. Be who you must be, but don't be afraid to change.

Self-Esteem Week: Make the Most of What You've Got

Sky Color
by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press, 2012
review copy provided by the publisher

Remember Marisol, in Ish? She helped Ramon believe in his art. Now she's the one with the problem. She has volunteered to paint the sky in her class' mural for the library...but there's no blue paint.

After she studies the sky from the bus window, as the sun goes down, and the next morning when it's raining, she realizes that BLUE is only one of many possible colors for the sky.


Coming tomorrow in Self Esteem Week: Be Who You Must Be

Self-Esteem Week: Valuing Ourselves

Zero
by Kathryn Otoshi
KO Kids Books, 2010

Zero feels empty. She doesn't think she counts, like the other numbers. Seven encourages her to remember, "It's what's inside that counts most," and "Be open. You'll find a way."

Zero realizes that she can bring value to the other numbers when she counts WITH them by leading the way before 1, 2, and 3, but also in combination with them to make all kinds of bigger numbers than they could make on their own.

When Zero is open to her true value, she feels whole, rather than empty.

Come back tomorrow for more picture books that build self-esteem!

Self-Esteem Week: Everyone Counts

One
by Kathryn Otoshi
KO Kids Books, 2008

Blue is a little blue because Red picks on him. But along comes One, with a new message for the colors: Everyone counts!

Next time Red comes along, Blue stands up for himself and doesn't let Red roll over him. All the colors (now numbers) take a stand and tell red, "NO."

Blue is pretty special. As Red is rolling away, small and defeated, Blue calls out, "Can Red be hot...AND Blue be cool?" And One chimes in "Red can count, too."

ONE is a simple book with a big message: "Sometimes it just takes One."

I'm not sure how I missed this book 4 years ago, but I was glad to spot it at NCTE at the Books for Children Luncheon. I didn't sit at Kathryn Otoshi's table, but this title was one of my first purchases when I got home!

All this week, I'll be featuring books to build self-esteem.